The Cherry Blossom Class
by storygirl1015
Summary: The Cherry Blossom Class of Konoha Kindergarten is known for their mischievous antics. But when innocent Sakura joins the class, how far will they go to impress her? One thing's for sure, their poor teacher Iruka's going to have more than a few gray hairs before it's over...
1. The New Girl

**Ever wonder what the Naruto gang was like in preschool? Well wonder no more! Cute little story I recently thought up…featuring the entire Naruto cast… as little kids! I know, I know, it's been done before…but still, the concept is just too adorable to pass up!**

**I don't own Naruto; otherwise this would have been part of the flashbacks.**

**Sakuxmultiple multiplexSaku**

**Summary: **The Cherry Blossom class of Konoha kindergarten is full of a rowdy bunch of boys that would rather play pranks on their poor teacher then settle down for their afternoon nap. But when little Sakura-chan joins the class, it's a case of extreme puppy love with a lot of mischief thrown in! What adventures are in store for Sakura and the gang? Read and see!

**Welcome to the Cherry Blossom Class! Staaaring:**

**Gaara**

**Naruto**

**Sasuke**

**Sai**

**Neji**

**Lee**

**Shikamaru**

**Choji**

**Kiba**

**Shino…**

…**And of course lil' Sakura-chan!**

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><p><strong>Ch.1<strong>: The New Girl

Konoha kindergarten…one of the best preschool's around. Full of bright, eager young students all ready to learn and—_CRASH!_

"_NARUTOOO!_ WHAT DID YOU BREAK THIS TIME!"

"NOTHING! IT WASN'T ME! IT WAS SAI'S FAULT; HE PUSHED ME!"

"I did no such thing…Naruto-kun no baka is just clumsy. Next time you should watch where you're going…dickless."

"Hey! Take that back!"

"Sai! What have I told you about that kind of language?" their teacher, Iruka-sensei, scolded.

It looked like the Cherry Blossom class was full of drama…as usual. Poor Iruka-sensei certainly did have his hands full… He only had ten students, and they were all boys.

But they were also full of energy, and sometimes keeping up with them was more than he could handle.

Still he loved working with kids and overall he couldn't have asked for a better bunch, no matter how much trouble they normally caused.

After he had successfully separated the two arguing boys, well…kept Naruto from trying to kill the troublemaking little artist, he took a quick glance at the clock and noticed it was time to call role.

Grabbing his clipboard and a pen he began to call out names and make checks.

"Naruto,"

"Here! Believe it!" He nodded to a hyper little blonde boy who was waving to him from the carpet.

Naruto was a little blond with three whisker marks on each cheek that loved ramen and playing pranks. He was a handful all by himself, but Iruka secretly had a soft-spot for the little scamp.

"Sai,"

"Here," the brunette replied, glancing up from his sketchbook.

Sai was very artistic and a bit...cunning for his age. He enjoyed antagonizing the others, especially Naruto, and no one could tell what he hid behind his disturbingly tight-lipped smile.

"Sasuke,"

"Here," The young Uchiha responded coolly.

Sasuke was a rather precocious little boy, and Naruto viewed him as a rival, so they were constantly arguing back and forth, competing in just about everything possible to determine who was the superior one. Though, he knew the two shared a close friendship in their own way. The youngest Uchiha was also rather handsome, so of course all the little girls from the other classes were constantly swooning over him, which annoyed the boy to no end.

"Gaara,"

"Here…" mumbled a redheaded boy who was huddled in a corner clutching a teddy bear.

Gaara was a particularly shy redhead who was always seen with his favorite teddy bear and refused to go anywhere without it. He had two older siblings and lived with his father, an important businessman and ambassador, who was rather stern. In general he preferred keepng to himself, though he occasionally would join in the others' games with coaxing.

"Neji,"

"Here," said a pale-skinned boy with long brown hair and pearly white eyes.

The moon-eyed boy was from the Hyuga family, and was usually polite, though could sometimes be a bit arrogant. He had long brown hair kept in an extremely low ponytail and was fairly calm, always carefully analyzing things before acting. He was also a year old than the others, and was viewed as a genius who excelled both academically and in the ancient martial arts passed down through his family for generations.

"Lee,"

"HERE AND READY TO ENGAGE IN THE ACTIVITIES OF YOUTH!" yelled a strange-looking boy with a bowl cut and thick eyebrows.

Lee was always bursting forth with 'youthful energy' probably because of his guardian and mentor, Maito Gai. He was constantly pushing himself beyond his limits, and whenever he failed to meet his own expectations, subjected himself to rigorous training excercises. For this reason he considered Neji his rival and was always trying to find ways to improve himself in the hopes of one day being able to challenge the Hyuga genius. He tended to be passionate and extreme, but was a genuinely kind-hearted, yet somewhat strange boy.

Iruka sweat dropped at the flames of passion blazing behind him before continuing, "…Erm…S-Shikamaru,"

"I'm here…what a drag…" yawned a boy with his hair tied in a spiky ponytail.

Shikamaru was an extremely lazy, yet extremely brilliant boy, and was considered a prodigy and shogi-champion. He preferred cloud-watching or dozing off as opposed to actually putting forth effort, something that worried Iruka-sensei, but he was a very resourful child nonetheless.

"Choji,"

"Here," a hefty boy replied between a mouthful of half-chewed potato chips.

Choji was, to put it simply, a portly boy who was constantly munching on potato chips, whether it was snack time or not. He was sensitive about any remarks made in reference to his weight and generally hung around with Shikamaru, who was surprisingly accepting of him and his large appetite.

"Shino,"

"Here," the quiet bug-collecting boy responded, pushing his shades further up the bridge of his nose.

Iruka couldn't help but sweatdrop at his appearance. Shino always wore a long jacket with a collar that covered everything below his nose, and dark sunglasses, regardless of the weather outside or the fact that most of class was held indoors. He seldom talked which made him all the more enigmatic, and when he did speak it was often something surprisingly wise and well-thought out. His strange fascination with all things insect-related was something Iruka guessed could be contributed to the fact that he came from a family of world-renowned bug experts.

"Kiba,"

"Yahoo! Here!" whooped a boy wearing a dark gray jacket with fake fur around the sleeves and hood. A muffled yip came from inside...

Iruka sighed as he checked off the name. Kiba was wild, boisterous, cocky and somewhat of a troublemaker, though not nearly as bad as Naruto. He'd already told Kiba about bringing his puppy into school. But like Shino's family, Kiba came from a clan who specialized in training and breeding police dogs, so he guessed it was to be expected. The Inuzuka's took the expression of 'man's best friend' to a whole other level, and saw their dogs not as pets, but as life-long friends and partners. Kiba was no different, carrying his six-week old puppy Akamaru with him wherever he went.

"Great, everybody's here today. Now that that's over, let's play for a while!" Iruka smiled, grabbing a radio and turning on some music.

The boys almost immediately started dancing…with the exception of Neji and Shino, who stood there watching the others blankly.

Naruto and Sasuke did different dances side by side as if trying to out-dance the other, while Choji looked more like a waddling penguin.

Kiba was convulsing almost violently like someone having a seizure, Shikamaru was lazily shuffling about, though he looked about ready to fall asleep on his feet.

Sai was doing some fast-paced techno dance Iruka had never seen before, and Gaara was slowly moving around while holding his teddy out in front of him as if he was slow dancing with it.

And Lee…was doing squats and toe-touches to his own imaginary rhythm.

Iruka sighed half-heartedly as he watched them move and dance around. All of them were doing completely different dances and none were actually on rhythm with the music.

"Alright…" he sighed, "L-Let's all try dancing together now, okay?"

"NO!" was the answer he got back from them.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something else, another teacher appeared at his door.

He turned to give the woman a small nod before turning back to his class. "Okay, I've got to step out for a minute, but I'll be right by the door. So no funny business, got it?"

They all looked at him with their most innocent faces, to which he raised one eyebrow in suspicion. Of course the minute he stepped out into the hallway, all bets were off.

Sai immediately began trying to provoke Gaara by tugging at the shy redhead's messy hair, Naruto and Sasuke began arguing over who was the fastest at "ninja freeze-tag" which quickly escalated into a full-blown fight, and Choji happily munched his chips on the carpet while Shikamaru dozed off beside him.

Lee began doing handstands to improve his arm strength and balance, Kiba quietly snuck over to Iruka's desk and placed a squirming green frog he had found on the way to school that morning in one of the top drawers.

Shino observed a small black beetle crawling across the window outside, and Neji watched silently as usual.

Needless to say when Iruka returned he was not pleased at what he saw. Lightly hitting his face with his palm as a tired sigh escaped his lips; he cleared his throat to gain their attention.

"Attention…quiet down everyone…" Rubbing his temple, he sucked in a deep breath and shouted, "ATTENTION!" Everyone immediately froze in their random positions.

Naruto, by this time, had Sasuke pinned and was stretching his cheeks as much as possible, while the young Uchiha was pushing him away with his feet and pressing his knuckles into the side of the blonde's face.

Both froze, blinking.

Sai put on his innocent fake smile, neatly hiding the ink pen he'd used to draw on the walls behind his back after giving up taunting Gaara.

Said redhead had retreated to the corner and was curled in the fetal position, clutching his teddy tight to his chest and sniffling.

Choji swallowed the chips he'd been munching, hiding the bag in his lap, and Kiba tried to conceal the wiggling white creature he'd been keeping in his jacket all day, though a wagging white tail still poked out...

Shikamaru, who had been woken up by all the commotion gave a tired yawn, mumbling something that sounded like "how troublesome" before propping his head up with one hand.

Shino readjusted his shades. Neji stared at Iruka expectantly and Lee was standing at attention.

"Now that I've got everyone's attention, I wanted to make an announcement…" Everyone stared at Iruka with wide eyes. "As of today we have a brand new student joining us, so try your best to make her feel welcome."

"The new kid's a _girl_?" Kiba asked aloud, a muffled yip echoing his loud shout.

"Where is she?" Naruto wondered scanning the room as if expecting this mysterious girl to pop out of nowhere.

Iruka only smiled at their shocked expressions, stepping aside and calling to someone behind him. "You can come in now Sakura-chan." he said gently.

All the boys craned their necks to see as a small head slowly appeared from behind Iruka's legs.

There was dead silence as big, bright green eyes stared back nervously, blinking. "I'd like you all to meet Sakura Haruno." he said, ushering the girl to stand in front of him.

She had shockingly bright pastel pink hair and large light green eyes. Her little heart-shaped face was pale and innocent as she peeked at them shyly.

She stared down at her shoes, blushing slightly. "Her family's just moved here and she'll be a part of our class from now on." he continued. "And since she's the only girl, I'm counting on all of you to look out for her. No rough-housing or you'll have to answer to me, understood?"

He fixed them all with the sternest glare he could, but they were all too dazed to notice. They all seemed completely fascinated with the pink-haired little girl, not only because of her unusual hair color, but also because it was their first time having a girl in the class.

They were used to roughhousing with each other, getting cuts and scrapes, and just being regular little boys.

But this new girl seemed so small and delicate, her hair looked soft and shiny, and her face was round and innocent. It was like finding a new discovery—the discovery of girls.

"Hi, Sakura-chan!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, "My name's Uzumaki Naruto, believe it!" he grinned proudly jabbing at his chest with a thumb.

She smiled shyly, waving at the loud blond. "N-Nice to meet you," she whispered softly.

Sasuke glared at his blonde-haired rival, not liking how he was the only one being acknowledged by the new girl. "Ignore the dobe," he said, stepping forward, "My name's Uchiha Sasuke."

She blushed as her innocent green eyes met with his dark onyx ones and he smirked in satisfaction. Mission accomplished, he concluded, watching Naruto fume with jealousy from the corner of his eyes.

Suddenly all the boys were clambering over each other at once, all trying to introduce themselves to the little girl and be the one to gain her attention.

"Hey, the name's Inuzuka Kiba!"

"I'm… *munch* Akamichi Choji."

"*sigh*…Nara *yawn* Shikamaru…"

"Aburame Shino, pleased to meet you."

"Hn…Hyuga Neji."

"I'm Sai, don't forget... ugly."

"I, ROCK LEE, AM VERY HAPPY TO MEET YOU, MOST BEAUTIFUL CHERRY BLOSSOM!"

"Um…m-my name's…G-Gaara…" the redhead mumbled, looking down at his feet.

Sakura nodded, smiling at her new classmates.

She had been a bit intimidated at first, noticing there were no other girls, but these boys seemed like a nice bunch. Well except maybe the one who _secretly_ called her 'ugly'.

Much better than the ones at her old school who called her names and made fun of her hair. "Nice to meet you!" she beamed.

The boys stared, not sure how to react. This strange new creature called a "girl"…there was something about seeing her smile like that...

Little did the kindergarten troop know that they were learning for the first time in their young lives just how spellbinding a girl's smile could be.

It was the next most powerful weapon she possessed next to her tears. And innocent little Sakura-chan didn't even know it.

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><p><strong>How was that? I guess it could've been funnier, but hopefully next chapter will make up for it. Please remember to review, and<strong> **no flames please!**


	2. Art Time

**Wow! Everyone seemed really eager for this story to continue; I'm so glad~! Sorry it took so long for an update... the computer (my personal laptop) crashed due to a stupid virus, and it just so happened that all my documents (which are safe, thankfully) are stored inside. But...it still won't be fixed until, eh...probably the end of the month (payday for my family), so I just decided to completely rewrite this chapter since I was anxious to work on it anyway, and I was kinda unsatisfied with where the original was going anyway. I probably won't do this for most of my other existing stories with the exceptions of the most recent ones. So enjoy! And make sure to show your appreciation through **_**reviews**_**!**

**P.S: Also, as you might of guessed, this story's plot is kind of open. I mean I pretty much know where I want it to go, but since it's basically just a cute fluff story of Sakura and most of the Naruto boys as kids and them fighting over a cute and clueless Sakura-chan, most events will be pretty random. It'll mostly be day to day stuff that occurs in their class, as well as adventures they have outside it.**

**But if it seems like I'm jumping around, that's probably why. Though I plan to take things slowly and I've already got everything mapped out, so it shouldn't be too confusing to follow. And just to let you know, not all boys that have appeared so far will be paired with Sakura. I know Lee, Choji and Shino **_**definitely**_** won't. Well, with Lee it'll be one-sided.**

**In addition, more boys who are not in the class will appear later, but I'm not telling yet because it'll ruin the surprise. I've gotten a few requests for ShikaxSaku GaaxSaku etc, so we'll see how that goes. Just wanted to say that stuff before I forgot, okay;**_** now**_** on with the story...!**

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><p><strong>Ch. 2: <strong>Art Time

Iruka looked around the room at all the gaping boys, somewhat amused by the overall reaction of the class.

Well, even if they were all surprised and completely unprepared for the arrival of a new student, at least they weren't pouncing all over her like a pack of wild animals the way they always did with each other.

Hopefully, they would follow his warnings and play nicely.

"Well, I'm glad you're all getting along. Now Sakura, where should we have you sit?"

He was somewhat surprised when one hand instantly shot up before anyone could blink, but not so much when he saw the hand's owner. "Oh, oh Iruka-sensei! Sakura-chan can sit next to me!" the blond waved eagerly, practically bouncing.

Iruka shook his head with a sigh. Was it really alright to the have the innocent new student sit next to the troublemaking class clown on her first day?

Maybe not, but if there was one thing about Naruto he was sure of, it was that he wouldn't stop until he got his way.

And for Iruka that meant pure hell. Not to mention that underneath the cheeky little prankster's boisterous attitude, he knew Naruto was a kind boy with a good heart who had always had some difficulty making friends, which was one of the reasons he acted out so often.

So maybe Sakura would rub off on him before he had the chance to influence her."Fine... Sakura, if you'd please take a seat next to Naruto." he instructed.

She gave a polite nod and then sat at the small two-person table, next to the beaming blond. A light hue of pink on her smooth baby cheeks complimented her unique hair.

The other boys glared enviously, wanting nothing more than for the blond to get scorched into the center of the earth.

"Alright, since this is Sakura's first day, we're going to do things a little differently so that she can get used to everything. Instead of spelling, we're going to do coloring for a little while." A chorus of cheers rose from the class, minus Sakura who only titled her head in confusion. "But no horse-playing or there's no recess... Sai, that means you especially." Iruka warned, looking at the smiling little boy pointedly.

Sai had a habit of becoming especially mischievous when it came to art, stealing the other kids' art supplies, smearing paint everywhere and claiming it was an 'accident', breaking crayons...the super-glue fiasco still gave him a headache every time he thought about it.

Who knew it'd be so hard to unglue Naruto from his chair?

He took out the box of crayons and told everyone to pass it around, then handed out the sheets they were to color. They all had to color in parts of the picture to make an image. It was an easy enough assignment, he thought.

...Poor, trusting Iruka. Letting your guard down for even a minute when dealing with the Cherry Blossom Class usually led to some very chaotic results, or just downright unexpected, if nothing else.

Naruto beamed from ear to ear, completely ignoring (or oblivious to), the other boys shooting him death glares, as he looked at the timid pink-haired girl sitting next to him.

She was staring at the paper, her nose wrinkled cutely as she tried to decide where to start coloring.

"Psst! Oi, Sakura-chan, I'm glad we get to sit together!" the blond stated, causing the little girl to smile cutely.

"Oh, y-yeah! Me too!" she replied sweetly. She didn't have much experience dealing with boys...or many other kids for that matter. She didn't really have friends at her old school and boys always told her she was ugly and weird because of her hair color.

She would be bullied almost constantly by the other little girls, who'd poke her forehead and call her a crybaby when she got upset.

Mostly, she'd sit by herself in a corner of the classroom, trying not to draw attention to herself, or alone on a swing at playground if she could find one. But almost everyone in her new class actually seemed really nice, and this boy didn't seem to mind her hair at all.

"So Sakura-chan...do you like ramen?" the little boy suddenly asked, causing Sakura to stare in confusion, but he continued before she could answer, "'Cause I love ramen! What's your favorite color? Mine's orange! How old are you? I'm five, believe it! I know all my abc's already, I can count up to twenty and I'm way better than Sasuke no teme over there," the blond declared proudly, motioning not so subtly toward Sasuke, who glared after hearing this.

"Whatever, dummy. You shouldn't brag so much when your grades are so bad. And why are you asking her so many questions? It's annoying, so stop bothering her." the young Uchiha shot back, glaring at his blond rival.

"I'm not bothering her, we're talking. So mind your own business, _Sasuke_. Me and Sakura-chan are friends! Right?" both boys immediately turned their heads to look at the pinkette, whose face was redder than it normally should have been.

_'F-friends? H-he wants to be my friend? He really doesn't think I'm weird...?' _Forming friendships may have been simple enough for most kindergartners, but it felt like the most important thing in the world at the moment to little Sakura, who's heart was racing with shock and pure joy.

"Sakura-chan...?" the blond called in concern, not sure if maybe he'd somehow upset her or not.

She looked at the blond, and a warm smile made her cute face practically glow. "Yes! We're friends!" she nodded in agreement, still bubbling with happiness. Her first friend!

"Ha!" the blond pointed a finger straight at the Uchiha. "See? I_ told_ you," Naruto shot Sasuke a triumphant look and stuck out his tongue. Sasuke frowned slightly and went back to working.

For a while, things went by smoothly. The classroom was filled with animated chatter as usual.

Most of it about the newest student and what she might turn out to be like. Naruto, who was lucky enough to sit near the new girl, asked her just about anything he could think of, and told her just as much about himself.

She'd answer whatever he asked her, and nodded politely when he spoke, even if it was something she didn't really know much about.

Then, just as the class was finishing up their coloring sheets, it happened. The chaos Iruka's kindergarten troop was known for.

Sai walked by Sakura's desk, carrying a jar of blue finger-paint, and as Sakura quietly finished coloring her paper with a small smile on her face at her handiwork, he tilted the jar just enough for the sticky blue liquid to pour out onto the table surface, completely ruining Sakura's hard work and spilling over into her lap.

She gave a startled squeak that immediately caught everyone in the class's attention. Naruto whirled around to look and his wide eyes carried over to Sakura's ruined picture, paint-stained dress and watery jade orbs.

Immediately he tackled Sai with a growl of anger and began pounding the other boy as hard as he possibly could. All the other boys crowded around to watch, as Sakura continued to sniffle and desperately tried to hold back the fat teardrops threatening to spill down her face.

She didn't want to look like a crybaby on her first day. Iruka rushed over, surveying the scene and dropping the stack of papers he'd been grading.

He took one look at the scene and immediately guessed what had happened. He barked an order for the two boys to break it up, but Naruto seemed unwilling to quit until he'd successfully beaten Sai to a pulp.

Finally, with the help of Rock Lee, he had dragged Naruto away long enough to give Sai time to get up, and afterwards, he was immediately told to go to the time out corner.

The sulking little artist sat in a chair against the wall with his back facing the classroom, waiting for his punishment to be over.

Iruka helped Sakura up and led her out of the classroom by the hand to another female teacher's room across the hall to get cleaned up. Meanwhile, another teacher watched the little group.

He took a look around the room and shook his head with a sigh. One little boy was sitting in a backcorner in timeout, holding an icepack to his swollen jaw and sporting a fresh black eye.

There was another little boy, a blond, standing by the door with his arms crossed impatiently and frowning as he waited for their teacher to come back with the new female student, and the other boys were just dispersed around the room, all seeming anxious. Most were glaring at the brunette sitting in the corner with malice.

He felt bad for his colleage, he really, really did. He knew that if he were in Iruka's shoes he wouldn't have lasted a week. But the guy was way too sensitive to give up on these kids, no matter how much trouble they caused. He was a total softy, and this rowdy little bunch was his pride and joy. "Good luck, Iruka. With another one on your hands, this group isn't going to calm down anytime soon..." he muttered.

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><p>Sai sat in the back corner, still sulking, and wondering to himself why the new girl had reacted to his joke the way she had. Didn't she think it was funny?<p>

He thought girls _liked_ to get attention?

And what better way for an artist to give it then by pouring paint on her?

And her hair was so unique...the color of cotton candy.

He thought he should express his feelings in color, so she'd understand him better. The problem was he didn't always know how to exress his feelings the right way.

He'd gone his short life being bounced from one foster family to another and hadn't learned to socialize very well.

Now, his current guardian Yamato, had sent him here, hoping he'd get better at it, instead of homeschooling him.

He thought if Sai was around kids his own age, he'd learn to open up more.

But it seemed all but pointless; he picked fights, was always saying insensitive things without realizing how his words affected people, insisted on keeping on a forcefully cheerful smile no matter how he really felt to make himself seem more friendly, and relied on the feedback he got from books and old TV shows to base his interactions on.

Yamato tried to explain how to behave and had repeatedly told Sai to just be patient and act like himself.

But the little boy had spent his life bottling his emotions, and acting like a social deviant was the only way he knew _how_ to behave.

Hiding his wariness of the world behind fake smiles and being verbally abusive to everyone he came in contact with was just how he expressed himself, unfortunately.

He glanced back over his shoulder to see the teacher still wasn't back with Sakura. A tiny piece of him started to feel a little bit...regretful about the prank, and he wondered what it could be.

He then noticed the others huddled togehter in a circle, whispering about something.

Sasuke took a quick look over his shoulder and saw Sai watching them, shot him the most evil look he could.

He would've gladly returned it with something worse, had their teacher not suddenly returned with the pinkette, who was wearing a mix of of two-times-too-big clothes and had puffy red eyes.

The other nine boys were instantly surrounding them, all asking questions and cheerfully welcoming Sakura back. She smiled shyly, and Iruka gave her a reassuring nod. "Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, wanna come play with us now?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"U-um, ok." Sai watched them blankly, noticed how the other boys seemed to act so friendly and careful around the small pinkette, as if she were a porcelian doll.

He studied her reaction; at first she was nervous and hesitant, but soon, she was laughing and smiling at Naruto's antics and Kiba's jokes.

Sai lowered his head in thought.

After ten more minutes Iruka allowed him to leave time out witha strict warning and the promise that he would be calling Yamato later.

Sai didn't blink, as soon as he was let out of timeout he calmly walked to his cubby box, and got out his best art supplies. No one seemed to paymuch attention to the little artists as he sat in a corner by himself and began painting something...

Sakura was having fun with all of her classmates, watching Naruto and Sasuke having a block stacking contest to see who could make a tower faster. Of course it all came to a quick end when Choji crashed into both accidentally, sending both falling down, and making everyone laugh.

Kiba was showing Sakura Akamaru 'secretly', and the little puppy licked her nose when she bent down to pet him. But Sai was deaf to the world, he only continued his work solemnly.

Sakura was happily chatting to the group, finally opening up, when she felt a slight tap on her shoulder.

She turned curiously, flinching when she saw the same pale boy who'd purposely dumped paint on her earlier.

Seeing her freeze up, the others turned, and glared daggers at the young artist. "Sai..." Sasuke growled out bitterly.

He ignored the underlying threat of his tone, and took another step towards the pinkette, who watched him nervously.

When he suddenly stuck out a hand toward her she drew back, until she heard him mutter something and decided to take a closer look. "Here, ugly..."

She studied the picture in his hands. And a stunning picture it was. Cherry blossom trees in full bloom and a peaceful lake made her mouth open in awe. She had never seen something so incredible before, it almost looked like the petals from the trees were falling and the water was moving in ripples. "W-wow!" she stuttered, her face flushing a bright red hue. "I-it's so...so pretty!"

The artist said nothing as she continued to admire his artwork, but a very faint feeling of satisfaction flickered through him. And his pale lips twitched in a slight quirk. He almost felt...strangely happy?

"Um, t-thanks!" she turned to him, eyes still gleaming the glossy green of healthy grass. "Thank you...Sai."

Now that funny feeling was growing inside, and he could feel his heart thumping against his ribcage.

The other boys were glowering at him hard now. They had never seen the artist act like this...ever. Giving someone a picture to apologize, or apologizing at all for that matter.

He was definitely feeling _Sakura-struck_...and the war had just began.

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><p><strong>Phew~! Finally done. Didn't turn out like I thought it would, but, at least it got done and, I think it was still pretty cute. Not as funny as the first chapter maybe, but there's still plenty of time. So show some support and <em>REVIEW<em>~!**


	3. Sasuke Troubles

**Please Read:**

**After all the positive feedback received from last chapter's reviews, I decided to go ahead and finish writing the next chapter. Not like I wasn't going to anyway, though. But I'm glad all you fans and first time readers alike out there are enjoying this~ It's really fun writing, too. And so, I'm proud to present you with chapter three! **

**This chapter is dedicated to everyone who reviewed and also all you SasuxSaku or ItaxSasu fluff fans out there. For those of you who are still waiting on a favorite Sakux paring, be patient, and I promise I'll try to get to it soon. But if you want to leave suggestions as to who should appear next, well, I'd be happy to read and consider them. Some might even be used in upcoming chapters along with my own unique plots, of course. So remember to give lots of feedback by reviewing!**

**P.S. although this is a Sakura-themed kiddy fic with all the beloved Naruto kids as adorable five-year olds, some chapters will be centered more on some of the other kids and their mishaps. Sakura will still be present though, it'll just be more like a third-person version of another character's POV. For example, this chapter reflects a lot on events as seen through Itachi's point and sort of Sasuke's. lol Just to let you all know what's ahead. ;)**

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><p><strong>Ch.3<strong>: Sasuke Troubles

"Hurry up niisan!" the little boy called, tugging on his brother's arm impatiently. It was early in the morning, and today, like many mornings Sasuke would be walking to school with his big brother.

The elder Uchiha studied his little brother's face with a cool impassiveness, noting how much more jittery Sasuke was than usual. Sure, he was always an eager one to get to school, but never had he seen his otouto quite like this before.

Normally, while his mother struggled to wake the little boy up, Itachi was already eating breakfast after getting dressed and going for his normal thirty-minute jog around the block.

But today, when he'd entered the bathroom to brush his teeth, he'd discovered Sasuke standing on a stool and trying to tame his unruly spiked hair into some form of order in the mirror. Itachi blinked, Sasuke up at the crack of dawn? Since when did such utter insanities occur?

So Itachi had shared the bathroom with his little brother, impassive curiosity as to what could have sparked this sudden change in behavior flickering through his mind.

He didn't give it much thought, however, as he finished up and began getting dressed for the day. Only when he entered the kitchen, to see Sasuke receiving a small bundle of flowers from their mother's garden, handed to him by a beaming Mikoto, did his interest pique ever so slightly. "Taken an interest in gardening, otouto?" he asked smoothly, getting his bento box from his mother before retrieving his backpack.

At this, Sasuke whirled to face his brother, his face a cherry red, and his mouth gaping like a fish as he stammered for a response that wouldn't ignite any suspicion from his brother. Mikoto, her eyes sparkling with a sly gleam, turned to Itachi, grinning, "Oh, didn't he tell you? It seems Sasuke-chan here has a little-"

"K-kaa-chan!" Sasuke stammered, grabbing the bouquet and rushing from the kitchen with his face on fire. "C'mon, niisan, let's go!" he called hurriedly behind him. Itachi gave his mother an amused look for her mischievous follies, and she returned it with a Cheshire Cat-like grin.

Now, on the way to Konoha Kindergarten, Sasuke was practically dragging him down the sidewalk, an urgent look on his boyish face as if it were a race between life and death, tripping several times in his haste, and nearly walking into oncoming traffic were it not for Itachi snatching him back to the sidewalk.

"Sasuke for all your rushing, you won't make it in one piece at this rate." his older brother informed him seriously, causing him to slow down ever so slightly. He glanced back with a light frown, flowers still clutched tightly in one hand as he waited oh so anxiously for the light to change.

"Sorry nii-san, but I have to make it there soon."

"You're normally one of the first ones to arrive, but today you insisted on waking up twenty minutes earlier without any prompting. Is there any particular reason?"

"N-no!" he covered quickly, shaking his head wildly.

"Otouto, what sort of fool do you take me for? You're hiding something from me."

"N-no...! I...I just need to get there earlier b-because...Iruka-sensei needed some help with something in the classroom," he spat out quickly.

"And what sort of help was it that he needed? I don't have to be at school for some time, maybe I could be of assistance,"

"No, no! It's ok, niisan. It's something only I can do." Sasuke replied immediately.

"Oh, I see." There was silence between the two brothers as they continued their trek to the pre-school, which coincidentally was no more than ten blocks from the academy the elder boy attended. One walked calmly, a book under one arm. The other, seemed fidgety as he clutched the delicate blossoms in his hand and chewed his lower lip nervously.

"Sasuke, you know, this time of year is usually when our family begins training the newest recruits into the ranks of the Police Force's top Corp. I've been practicing a new technique father showed me recently, and since we have time, would you like me to train you a little, one on one?"

At this, the little boy stopped dead in his tracks, every part of his body tingling in pure shock. Had he heard wrong? Surely, Itachi hadn't just offered to actually train with him. Sasuke had always wanted to train with his older brother, a prodigy who just so happened to be a top-ranking agent in-training of their family's Police Force.

Sasuke always begged Itachi to show him his cool techniques, but he always had some excuse or another. The bittersweet irony of being able to train with his brother on the one morning he was decidedly..unavailable made Sasuke want to throw a tantrum. But when he thought of Sakura's innocent face and cotton candy hair, and seeing her playing with one of the _other_ boys, something in his young mind snapped.

He shook his head fervently, casting his older brother a pitiful look, obviously torn. "Sorry nii-san, I know I always ask, but I can't today."

Itachi was now thoroughly amused, never expecting for Sasuke to turn such an opportunity down. "I never would've thought there'd come a day when you'd turn such an offer down, Sasuke. This task of yours must truly be important."

"I need to get there..." the youth continued mumbling to himself, dark eyes wide and focused as he walked alongside his older brother. "I let can't let her be alone with one of them."

Itachi studied Sasuke's narrowed eyes of determination with a highly analytical gaze. "Her?"

"Sakura-chan can't be there by herself...not with someone like Sai or the _dobe_." he hissed, a fierce fire alighting in his eyes.

Here, a knowing smirk graced the elder's lips, as his earlier suspicions were confirmed. Apparently his mother had good reason to be giddy if Sasuke, who seemed to avoid most females like the plague, was finally taking an interest in the opposite sex.

They happened to come upon the pre-school's gates at that precise moment, just as several other children were also approaching the school. Among them, Itachi recognized some of his brother's classmates and 'rivals'. A loud and bouncy little blond, a long, brown-haired boy with a composed expression and pearly eyes, and a tired looking kid that kept yawning as if he were about to fall asleep any minute.

The blond seemed to be the first to notice their presence as they walked to the gates, since he began immediately yelling loudly at his younger brother in his own strange form of a greeting. The other two only stared blankly, obviously not nearly as energetic as someone like Naruto was at such an early hour.

"Hey Sasuke, how come you're here so early, huh, huh?" the blond demanded, sticking an accusing finger in the younger Uchiha's face. Sasuke shot the other boy a half-hearted glare as he shoved his finger away, scanning his three _rivals_ warily.

"I should be asking you that same thing, dope. You never get to school this early unless Iruka-sensei threatens to take away your ramen at lunch."

The blond's eyes seemed to widen in realization, and then he took a step back, his face reddening slightly."W-well," he scratched his cheek in thought, "m-maybe I just _felt _like coming early today then, ok?" he shot back defensively, glancing at his sneakered feet.

"Man, I can't believe you guys have so much energy this early, what a drag." the tired looking kid, a Nara, if Itachi recalled correctly, sighed.

"Well, what about _you_, Shikamaru. You're _never_ here this early either; everybody knows you can barely stay awake during class, not counting before." All eyes seemed to turn on the lax young prodigy, as Naruto's comment hovered over head.

Shockingly enough, the blond was correct in his observation. The laid-back kid with the chronic case of cloud envy never seemed motivated enough to start _anything_ early, let alone willingly.

"Huh," he shrugged, "Guess I have my own reasons, too." he mumbled thoughtfully, gazing up at the bright morning sky.

Itachi silently wondered if those 'reasons' were in anyway similar to Sasuke's, but just as he was thinking this, the faint sound of approaching footsteps was heard coming down the sidewalk, and he turned, as did the small group of younger boys, to see a pink-headed little girl being led by a voluptuous blond woman at her side, the woman's flashy black heels clacking as she power-strutted down the sidewalk. The petite little girl struggled only slightly to keep up with her presumed mother, her rose tinted cheeks puffed slightly.

"Sakura-chan!" he heard the blond squeal, noting how all eyes instantly went in that direction.

The little girl waved back shyly, her blond-haired companion looking between the group of boys and her little daughter.

"Well, Sakura it looks like you've already got some friends here, so I don't see any reason to stay with you. You'll be alright, won't you?"

"Y-Yes! Bye-bye, kaa-san," she hugged the woman once before quickly shuffling over to Naruto and the others.

"Have a nice day, Sakura. Shizune will probably be picking you up this afternoon."

"Ok," the pinkette chirped back, and the whole group watched as the woman gracefully walked away.

Sakura turned to face her new friends, only to see them staring past her with wide eyes at where the woman had been, and an unfamiliar boy she didn't know watching her impassively. She instantly blushed when they momentarily locked eyes before looking away.

Of course, this awkward silence didn't last long, as Naruto began talking soon after, "Sakura-chan, was t_hat _lady really your mom?" he asked in awe.

Slowly, the girl nodded. "Uh-huh...um, m-my real mommy and daddy are gone so...I live with my kaa-san Tsunade and my nee-chan Shizune now." she stammered, clearly embarrassed. Seeing this, the other boys instantly felt a flash of resentment for the bubbly blond, and Sasuke eyed his rival sharply.

Itachi looked on, now knowing the cause of Sasuke's unusual (though not so mysterious) behavior, his quest for knowledge satisfied for the moment. "Sasuke," he called quietly, "I have to go now. Remember to meet me near the front courtyard this afternoon. For a minute, the younger Uchiha frowned slightly, but then put on a determined face, seemingly trying to appear brave.

"Ok, see you later nii-san," he smiled, waving as his brother began to walk to his own academy. Together, the small group entered the academy's gates, Naruto running off, dragging Sakura behind, and the others quickly in pursuit, the intention of murdering the blond firmly placed in their minds.

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><p>Sasuke had a problem. Ok, make that a <em>few <em>problems...he glared across the room at the group of boys surrounding the shy pinkette. She smiled nervously at them, her round cheeks tinted an apple red hue.

"Sakura-chan wanna sit with me at snack time?"

"Hey, back off Naruto! She's gonna sit with_ me_ and Akamaru!"

"Arf! Arf!"

"Sakura, perhaps you'd like to go somewhere more peaceful? There's a tree on the playground with beautiful blossoms; I'll show it to you if you'd like." Sasuke sneered menacingly.

Even that stupid _Hyuga_ was after Sakura then? Obviously, it didn't take a genius to see that he wasn't the only one who liked the cute pink-haired girl. Still, it had been bad enough when that poser artist freak had smiled at the blossom for the first time. His real first smile...and it had been at Sakura! _His_ Sakura!

Then there was Naruto, who had been love-struck the moment he laid eyes on Sakura-chan, and the mutt who was obviously using his annoying puppy to try to charm her, and now _Hyuga_, who he disliked even more than the dobe.

It was becoming more than Sasuke could stand. He hadn't even gotten a chance to present her with the flowers he'd brought just for her, all because that idiot Naruto had run off with her earlier and now the others were swarming around her in a tight ring.

Sakura shook her head slightly as she looked around at all the eager looking boys. They were all smiling excitedly, waiting for her answer. The truth was, she wasn't used to all the attention from boys. Well, unless they were calling her names or throwing pebbles at her forehead.

She didn't know how to respond, not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. She supposed she could sit with Naruto at snack time, since he _had_ asked her first. But then...what about all the others? Would they get mad? Would it hurt their feelings?

A sudden weight on her shoulder made her jump in her seat, and a very confident voice spoke from behind her. "Sakura-chan, is going to sit with _me_." Sasuke declared, taking Sakura's small hand in his own and marching her through the crowd of relentless boys just as Iruka announced it was time for snack.

Sakura sat under the shade of a large tree, her snack on her lap, and beside her, the popular young Uchiha Sasuke was munching on his riceball. Sakura's hands were folded neatly as she stared down at her own food, her stomach rumbling, but her nervousness preventing her from taking the first bite.

"Here Sakura-chan, these are for you." he said suddenly, causing her to look up.

"Oh!" Sakura gazed at the bundle of flowers, her apple green eyes wide and bright and her petite mouth in a surprised "o" shape. She took the bouquet handed to her carefully, as if the blossoms were made of glass, and stared into the center of them before sniffing.

They smelled sweet, and the colors were all so pretty. She looked up, locking eyes with the deep onyx orbs of the boy beside her, a shy but happy smile lighting up her heart-shaped face. "T-thank you, Sasuke-kun." she leaned over and pecked his cheek quickly before looking away in embarrassment.

Sasuke sat there in stunned silence, not really expecting flowers to have_ that_ effect. He had often heard his mother mention that girls liked getting gifts, and that you could never go wrong with flowers. So he had decided to try it, and was pleased to see that it had worked.

Better than he'd expected! He didn't even mind that she'd kissed him. Usually, he'd turn around and bolt as soon as a girl so much as tried to hold his hand. But with Sakura, it was different. He found that_ he_ was the one being clingy.

_He_ was the one that wanted to keep her as close to him as possible. He finished off his rice ball, then looked over to see her looking at the flowers fondly, her food still in her lap. "Why aren't you eating?" he asked, blinking. "You don't like it? I can get Iruka-sensei to give you something else if you wa-"

"N-no! It's fine. Please don't worry about me, I'm just..." she trailed off to stare at her hands. What _was _wrong with her? It was true, she was almost dying to take a bite, even a nibble.

But for a five-year old, there was a lot on her mind she didn't quite know how to express. She was happy her new classmates seemed to accept her, flattered one had even been nice enough to give her flowers, worried they might get tired of her, and confused by their contrast in behavior towards her and each other. They fought like...well, like boys with each other, but they were always so sweet to her, it was hard to believe they could be so rough to begin with.

Instead, she innocently changed the topic, smiling brightly at the boy beside her. "Ne, Sasuke-kun," Once she saw she had his undivided attention, she continued. "Ano, how come you guys are always...s-so nice to me?" she managed to squeak out timidly, nibbling on her lower lip and shyly avoiding making direct eye contact.

Sasuke stared at her, surprised and caught off guard by the question. He opened his mouth to respond before promptly closing it again. How was he supposed to answer that? How _could_ he? He barely knew himself, only that, for whatever reason, he and almost every other boy in the class liked being around Sakura. A lot.

She was adorable, sweet, smelled like strawberries, and didn't act like the other little girls he'd encountered in his short life, the clingy leeches. But he just didn't know how to put what he was feeling into words. He huffed to himself in frustration.

All day he'd been waiting for the chance to talk to her alone. To tell her that he would protect her from all those other idiots that thought _they_ actually had a right to be in her presence. And now that they were together, and he had the perfect opportunity...he couldn't get the stupid words out of his mouth!

He was so pathetic! "Uh, S-Sasuke...it's ok. You don't...have to answer if you don't want to." he heard her saying meekly. His eyes widened. Oh no, now he'd taken too long to respond, and she thought he was _upset _with her.

He shook his head furiously, completely shrugging aside any anxieties he'd had before hand, "N-no! No, no, no, no! It's not that! Sakura-chan, I really-"

"Arf!" Before the sentence was completely out of his mouth, he was cut off by a tiny yip. "Arf Arf!" The noise came closer, and a little white blur came barreling towards them, jumping into Sakura's lap and licking her face fervently.

She giggled at the ticklish feeling against her soft cheek, lightly stroking the puppy. "Hehehehe! T-that tickles!" she squealed giddily. Sasuke scowled. Great, now the mood was definitely ruined. And he only had one person to blame...

"Hey, Akamaru! There you are boy," a huffing brunette ran up to them, grinning as he saw his furry companion in Sakura's arms. _'Good job boy! You led me right to her._' he thought blissfully.

From the corner of his eyes he saw Sasuke, getting up with his empty bento box and pouting, no doubt annoyed that he had interrupted his time with the cherry blossom.

He turned back to Sakura to see the puppy now cuddles close to her chest, obviously enjoying her warm presence. He scratched the back of his head, giving her a toothy grin.

"Sorry 'bout that, Sakura-chan. He just took off out of nowhere. But I'm glad I found you, everybody's been looking for you, you know." he told her, shooting a pointed glare to the sulking Uchiha.

From the corner of his own onyx orbs, Sasuke gladly returned it, kicking a stray rock as he got up and brushed off the front of his shorts. Her round eyes locked onto them, and he marveled at their unique color.

They had to be the prettiest, greenest eyes he'd ever seen. "Oh, sorry! Um, I didn't know...I mean-" he laughed, waving off her explanation with a flick of his hand.

"It's ok. Just glad we finally caught up to you. It's almost time to come back inside. Wanna walk with me?" he offered her a hand, which she took, allowing him to pull her up, Akamaru still under one arm.

"Um, ok. S-Sasuke, are you coming too?" she asked, blinking innocently at the pouty faced Uchiha.

He gave a low mumble in the back of his throat, nodding subtly. before he could even get another word in, Kiba had already grabbed her by the am and dragged her away, completely leaving him behind. He looked back over his shoulder to shoot Sasuke a triumphant, cocky grin.

Later that afternoon, when Itachi came to pick Sasuke up, he noticed his little brother's sullen mood as he dragged his feet, scowling darkly at nothing. Blinking, he made a point to comment on the odd behavior he was displaying, "How did your day go?"

He watched in amusement as the younger boy turned to face him full on, and looked him square in the eye with the most serious look he'd ever seen Sasuke give. "_It sucked_." was his terse response, before Sasuke brushed past him on the sidewalk and stomped ahead.

When they arrived home, Sasuke was still in much the same foul mood. He didn't even acknowledge his mother, who was outside gardening, and stomped straight into the house, flinging off his shoes by the front door and heading upstairs to his room to brood about the less than perfect end to the all but perfect day.

Mikoto turned to her eldest son inquiringly, "Did something happen with Sasuke today?" she asked, pausing from her weeding to gaze up with concern.

Itachi merely shook his head calmly, smiling slightly. "Don't mind him, okaa-san. He's just having Sasuke troubles."

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><p><strong>Ok, that chapter is <strong>_**dooone~**_**! Sorry it took so long! I kinda lost my rhythm half way through, so i felt the need to take some extra time to make sure it was acceptable before updating. Hopefully the next chapter goes smoother. And I've decided the theme for the next chapter will be for...Gaara! So get ready for some oh so adorable GaaxSaku fluffiness! Ok, 'til next time! **_**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!**_


	4. First Crush

**Weeeell, hello again everybody~ It's the start of another great chapter and...why am I in such a good mood? I have no idea~! But that's ok, it really shouldn't matter to you guys as long as I keep updating. But if you do care about my feelings, I'd be very touched and pleased and probably more likely to keep updating. So, on another note...this chapter's theme is mostly GaaxSaku. **

**Since so far I've done...SaixSaku, SasuxSaku, and a little NaruxSaku (but I plan to do another chapter dedicated to this pairing anyway), so now it's Gaara's turn~! And then maybe Neji's...or not. We'll see, won't we? Suggestions on who should come next will be taken into consideration. Also, the theme of this chapter is sort of based of the song **_My Crush_** by China-Ann McClain.**

**Very cute, catchy song by the way; it was playing when I was about to start on this chapter, which fit. Only, it will be from Gaara's viewpoint instead of Sakura's, since she's kinda too clueless to have a real crush right now. But anyway, hope you enjoy it! And don't forget to **_**review**_**!**

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><p><strong>Ch. 4: <strong>First Crush

The timid redhead watched the scene unfolding from his special corner, his teddy held tight against him and a bright crimson spark on his face. Currently, Sasuke and Naruto were arguing, again.

_That_ wasn't so unusual. But what _was_, was the reason behind their argument, and she was standing beside Sai, the troublemaking artist who had made amends for formerly bullying the pink-haired girl and now faithfully tagged along wherever she went like a loyal puppy.

Now he was just as smitten as all the other secret (or not so much) Sakura lovers. He watched as the pale brunette leaned over to whisper something in Sakura's ear, causing her to blush. He stiffened, only able to guess at what totally inappropriate comment that could've been. It was Sai, after all. And the boy had an unhealthy obsession with lewd topics. Such as the male anatomy.

Sure Gaara _knew_ about it, since his older brother had (kind of) explained it to him, but he really didn't get what the big deal was. Why was Sai so obsessed with it? In general, whatever sick fetishes his classmate had wouldn't bother him much, but the thought that he might taint someone as innocent-minded as Sakura made him feel weird, embarrassed, and maybe even a little mad.

Normally, this feeling would cause him a great deal of confusion, and he'd be stuck with the fluttering in his chest and the butterflies in his stomach with no clue what it was or how to deal with it. But...ever since his conversation with his older siblings upon arriving home the day before, he now had a better understanding of his feelings.

_**Flashback**_

_Gaara arrived home with a sulking pout and a deeply troubled look. This wasn't so unusual since the shy little redhead was always awkward when it came to interacting with others, though he did try. Most children seemed to be frightened of him based on the rumors they'd heard about him from their parents. About how he was an insomniac, and when he _did _try to rest, he became violent and uncontrollable. _

_Once, he'd even accidentally severely injured another child, which of course didn't help his reputation, and eventually, to save whatever little sanity he may have had left, _and_ protect his father's political reputation from further harm, the family had been forced to move. _

_Of course, this was just a rumor. Gaara himself wasn't sure if it was true. But if it was, it would definitely explain a lot. Like why his father always seemed so disappointed and aloof with him, and why his brother and sister always seemed to keep their distance. _

_Poor Gaara didn't know what to believe, and so he took extra precautions. No one knew how the little redhead would always stay up while the other children slept during naptime, fighting sleep, and rocking himself back in forth in his corner, afraid he might slip into one of his 'trances'. _

_No one knew how he struggled between wanting to interact with other children, and keeping his distance, afraid he'd hurt someone again, afraid everyone would hate him. He thought he had gotten pretty good at it, keeping to himself and learning not to expect much. As long as he did those things he'd be fine. _

_But then _she _came...and the trouble really started. At first, Gaara was sure it was just a passing curiosity that stemmed from the fact that he wasn't really around a lot of girls, his older sister being about the only female who ever even stayed in the same room as him. Then, it got worse...he would catch himself staring in awe as she giggled and blushed, and sometimes, even looked at him, and _smiled_._

_He didn't know why she was doing it, but he was sure if he got his hopes up and took it the wrong way, he'd get hurt, so he continued to stay clear. But then one day, something that had probably been unavoidable happened during free time, when they were both coloring... _

_They both lay down on the carpeted floor, a large stack of blank paper and a variety of crayons sprawled out between them. So far, they had been coloring in silence. Everyone else was currently preoccupied doing something else, and it was one of those rare moments where the Cherry Blossom Class was peaceful._

_As he was making lazy red swirls all over his paper out of boredom, she sat neatly coloring in the delicate looking flower she had drawn. And without looking up, he reached for another color, just as she decided she needed a new green crayon to color in the grass and leaves in the picture. _

_Both reached forward, absently feeling for a color, and when two small hands landed on the same waxy green stick, two surprised young faces looked up. For a moment, the world seemed to stand still for Gaara and Sakura. Bright green eyes stared into lighter turquoise orbs rimmed in black, both round with shock._

_Sakura blinked, her long lashes fluttering down against her porcelain skin, and Gaara felt his face heat up considerably. "Oh," they both muttered in unison. Two hands flying away from the crayon at the same time, though their eyes remained trained on each other. _

_Sakura's face slowly started to change color, first from the pale porcelain that it always was, then to a dusty pink hue, then to a softer, brighter rosy red. Gaara's cheeks felt like an inferno, he was so embarrassed. For some reason he couldn't turn away, but the longer he looked, the more embarrassed he felt. He glanced down at his hand quickly, flexing his fingers numbly. _

_Oddly enough, when their hands had touched in that brief moment, it felt almost like when his older brother rubbed his feet on the carpet at home and then purposely shocked him. But _this _shocked rippled all the way up his spine, and his heart was pounding wildly in his ribcage. He was almost positive she could hear it. Slowly, he tried to move his mouth, just to see if it still worked. _

_"Ah...um s-sorry!" He blinked, sure he'd been about to say the exact same sentence. He looked up at her face again to see her looking down at her own hand, holding it close to her chest as if she too, had felt the same spark of static. "I didn't know you were using it," slowly, she bit her lip, "I mean...you can...have it if you want." _

_Gaara stared in shock. __**No one**__ apologized to him. It just didn't happen. But this girl had, and she looked every bit as sincerely embarrassed as he felt. Ah, now what was it that people said when they wanted to forgive someone? Not that she'd really done anything to him anyway. "I-it's...ok. I don't r-really need it anyway." he mumbled shyly, eyes trained expertly on the ground._

_"Um...are you sure?" she asked, her voice soft, her large eyes innocent._

_He swallowed, not trusting his voice at the moment. Instead, he nodded vigorously, still looking down in hopes she didn't see his fiery red face. _

_"Well, ok. Thank you, Gaara-san!" she chirped happily. Gaara took a deep breath and peered up at her through his shaggy bangs to see her still beaming at him. _

_Ba-dump..._

_Ba-dump..._

_Ba-dump..._

_Since when was his heart so loud? Oh, since they started talking, apparently. He wondered if she could hear it too. _

_He studied her curiously and she tilted her head innocently, seemingly about to speak, when... "Oi, Sakura-chan, come watch Naruto-baka try to stick crayons up his nose!" Kiba yelled from across the classroom. Gaara turned to look as he saw the blond holding a handful of crayons and bragging that he could easily fit at least two crayons in each nostril. _

_Not that Gaara thought that was anything to brag about..._or_ very safe. But Sai had been taunting Naruto again, and of course the gullible blond didn't like the idea of his artistic rival showing him up, especially not in front of Sakura. Gaara didn't understand his strange classmates, and doubted he ever would. _

_Sakura looked on nervously, probably wondering the same thing he was, as it was obviously not a very safe thing to attempt. Searching for their teacher and then finding him speaking in the hallway to a female teacher, she cast the redhead a small, apologetic smile._

_"Um, I...I need to go make sure Naruto-kun's ok..." she explained, before quickly getting up. "Thank you again for letting me use the crayon." And then, as if it were something truly amazing and she was in the presence of royalty, she gave a polite bow before running off to warn Iruka. _

_Gaara sat on his knees, his precious bear and most trusted companion, laying forgotten at his side. The scribbled paper he'd been working on was near it along with an assortment of colorful crayons. He blinked, watching the back of the pink-haired angel as she dashed off for their teacher. Gaara, for the first time ever, understood the spellbinding power of little pink-haired girls..._

_That afternoon, he'd gone home in a deep state of perplexity, mulling over his thoughts endlessly. Trying to figure out for the umpteenth time why his heart had raced and his stomach did flip-flops with just a look from those big green eyes. Today, his father had sent the limo to bring his children home, too busy to be bothered with the trivial matter of bringing them home himself. _

_The driver smiled down at the awkward little boy and gave him a curt nod. Gaara only stared at the man with large, doleful eyes, long ago having reasoned that these polite mannerisms were simply customary to the job of a chauffeur. He slid in next to his siblings in the back of the limo as the driver opened the door and took his small backpack from him to place in the seat across from him, along with the other two already there. _

_His brother gave him a jovial grin, and his sister greeted him with a more subdued gesture of a soft smile. At five, Gaara was by far the youngest of the three Sabaku children. His older sister Temari was the oldest at twelve, and Kankuro was under her at nine. _

_Both were much older than him, and truth be told, Gaara never thought his siblings to be particularly fond of him; they were only doing the same thing as everyone else, smiling in his face and trying to tiptoe around being too close to the little redhead. _

_Temari looked over at her youngest brother as they pulled away from the curb. He seemed anxious, more than she'd seen him since the time Kankuro had told him that if you stayed in the bathtub too long you'd get sucked down the drain. She studied Gaara, who was frowning with his head down, eyes focused in his lap. Deciding to break the awkward moment, she cleared her throat, trying to think of something to say. "Uh, so Gaara...did you make any new friends yet?" _

_The redhead looked up at her with pained eyes, as if the words had been a physical slap across the face, and as soon as the words were out of her mouth she inwardly flinched with regret. She should've known better than that by now! With Gaara's history with people, it would be nothing short of a miracle for him to be able to interact with other children normally. _

_Still, monster or not, she was his big sister, and she couldn't help but hold on to the hope that miracles were possible. It would be nice if he could make at least one friend here. "Actually...I..." she blinked, in stunned silence, holding her breath at the sound of his soft voice, barely above a whisper. _

_Kankuro, who had been fiddling with some weird puppet he'd made at school, looked up too, obviously just as surprised. Seeing both his siblings' eyes trained on him, Gaara glanced at them meekly, feeling his cheeks growing warm again. He looked rather nervous, but that was because inwardly he was deciding whether or not to confide in his siblings about what had happened earlier that day. Maybe they could tell him what that weird feeling was. "T-Temari?"_

_"Huh, what is it?" _

_"I was just wondering...if you think I might be sick...I mean I..." Temari blinked as he instantly stopped talking, looking at her brother in confusion. Sick...? But Gaara never got sick. He'd never even been injured! It was just another of the bizarre things that kept most people away. Her mind came back to the present when she heard him continuing on in the same hushed tone. _

_"I know I've never been sick before. But I feel weird...in here." He placed a hand over his heart to illustrate his point. "M-my heart keeps racing and m-my face gets hot. My stomach feels weird too... Does that mean I'm sick?" Kankuro scratched his head in thought and Temari furrowed her brows in puzzlement. _

_Confused, she decided to press him further, "What do you mean? When did all this start?"_

_"T-Today...in class. I was coloring and, and s-she...t-touched me." Now Temari was completely floored. _She? _Was there something going on with a teacher there? As far as she knew, there were no girls in Gaara's class._

_Alarmed, she sat up straight in her seat, "Gaara, _who was it_? What did she do? If you tell me I can-"_

_"Her name is...Sakura-san. She's new...um, when we were coloring, our hands accidentally touched, and she didn't get mad at me." Instantly, a wave of relief washed over the dirty blond-haired girl, along with understanding. "Oh," she managed to breathe out. But then as soon as she did, another question entirely shot into her head, causing her to jolt forward again._

_"G-Gaara, did you say there's a new _girl _in your class?" _

_Slowly, he nodded. "Uh-huh...s-she's really not like any other girls from before. She smiles at me, and she even said sorry when it wasn't her fault. I don't know why, but when she looks at me...I feel funny." The understanding of what those words meant hit his siblings like a ton of bricks, and suddenly, whatever either of them had been preparing to say magically dried up in their throats. _

'Could it be...is it possible? But, what he's describing...it almost sounds like...'_ Temari shook her head, unable to even finish the thought. _

_Kankuro shot Gaara a very happy grin, though, and reached over Temari to pat him on the shoulder. He was just as shocked as their sister, but also rather proud and happy. His little brother, who would have imagined? "Good job, Gaara. Nice goin'!" he praised, though Gaara was completely confused as to why._

_"What did I do?" he asked slowly, his eyes clearly showing confusion._

_"Eh, you don't get it? You got your first crush! Now you can work on getting past first base!"_

Gaara's mind came back to the present after that. Temari, after scolding Kankuro heavily and smacking him upside the head...had taken the time to explain to Gaara the concept of 'liking' someone, and what the feeling he had, meant. She'd told him that when you liked someone, you felt funny sometimes, and when you saw them you'd either get really excited or nervous, but usually both.

She had calmly explained that it was normal, and that he wasn't sick. She'd even said that it was normally a good thing, going as far as encouraging him to get to know his new classmate better.

_"Gaara, I know things haven't always worked out when you've tried to make friends before...but from what it sounds like, I don't think Sakura-san is like the others. So please give it a try." _Her words echoed in his head as he watched the others standing in a circle and tossing a ball around.

It was a simple enough game, but of course, they all seemed to be trying to outdo each other, yet again. The pinkette of course remaining clueless, simply smiling cheerfully as the ball was passed to her. Several times during the game, she would quickly look over in his direction, and he would blush furiously before looking down again.

Now that he knew what was wrong, that he _liked_ Sakura, he wondered what she felt about him. Sure, she might not have _hated_ him, but did she at least like him enough to want to be friends? "Here Sakura-chan, catch!" Naruto called, tossing the ball into the air.

Sakura giggled, reaching her arms up to catch it, but the ball sailed over her head, bouncing off a desk and landing with a roll at Gaara's feet. All eyes turned to him and instantly he panicked, looking down at the round bouncy object in pure terror as memories came flooding back into his mind of a similar incident.

"Ah, Gaara-san?" His eyes widened and his head shot up at the familiar voice.

"S-Sakura-san!" She stood in front of him with a sheepish smile, wringing her hands together nervously. She was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with a red dress on over it and white stockings, making the scene even more adorable as she looked like a realistic doll.

"Can I please have the ball?" Gaara looked down a the ball, clutching his bear tightly to his chest at the painful memories.

_"Get out of here, you freak!" _

_"We don't wanna play with it after you touched it!"_

_"Don't you know there's a rule? 'No monsters allowed'. We don't play with kids like you, and we already got enough people, so beat it!"_

_'But...Sakura-san isn't like that.'_ he assured himself, slowly picking up the ball and holding it out towards her. The same kind look remained in her eyes as she accepted it, not at all disgusted or annoyed at having to be so close to him. In fact, she looked a bit curious even. Like she was wondering why he wasn't look at her in the eyes, and why his face was such a funny red color.

"Uh, Gaara-san...you know you can come play with us...if you want." He blinked, looking up at her in surprise, and it was her turn to look away quickly. "I mean, um, only if you want to." she added quietly.

Gaara weighed his options. He could refuse and stay in his safe spot, like always, and she'd probably think he didn't like her. Or he could come out of his comfort zone and join his classmates, and _maybe_, get to talk to her for a little while? He nodded slowly, looking down at his bear and giving it one more quick squeeze. Sakura beamed silently.

She'd really wanted Gaara to come and play with everyone. He always looked so lonely in the corner by himself. She'd asked Naruto about it, and he'd said Gaara normally didn't like to play with everybody, but Sakura thought he was just shy. Maybe he just needed encouragement? That was how she'd felt on her first day, until she'd seen how nice everyone was.

She watched as the redhead hesitantly set his teddy bear down in the corner with a small frown. It was obvious that it was his favorite toy; it probably helped make him feel safer, just like her special blanket during a thunderstorm...

He stood up and looked at her nervously, his hands hanging awkwardly at his sides with nothing to hold on to. She gave him a reassuring smile and gently took hold of his hand with hers. He looked a little shocked at first, but didn't try to pull away.

Sakura led him over to the waiting group, still grinning happily, with Gaara nervously glancing back at his corner as if he was ready to bolt at any second. But he felt her gentle pulling come to a stop and realized they had made it. He turned to face the group, the others staring with wide eyes, clearly shocked.

"Ok, I'm back." Sakura giggled warmly. She looked at everyone's shocked face and tilted her head slightly, glancing at a very embarrassed looking Gaara. "Oh, and Gaara-san's gonna play with us too!" she chirped.

When she had that eager, innocent look on her face no one could dare deny her anything she wanted, and so the boys put on their best carefree expressions, pretending as if seeing the redhead join their circle didn't surprise them at all. Naruto was the first to pipe up with a friendly greeting for the shy boy, though. "Hiya, Gaara! You're really gonna play with us? That's awesome, believe it!"

Gaara blinked at the blond's open enthusiasm, and found himself drawn into Naruto's genuine cheerfulness. He gave a small smile in return to the blond's eager grin. Everyone quickly seemed to focus on the game again after that, and Sakura started by tossing the ball to a quiet Shino, who threw it to a lazy Shikamaru, who half-heartedly tossed it at the keen Neji, and so on.

Gaara stayed focused, not wanting to miss a detail. It may have seemed like a simple game, but he wanted to be alert. He waited for the ball with a determined expression, and by the time it was thrown to him, his heart was pounding. He closed his eyes tightly just as he felt the ball fly into his arms. The redhead held it against his chest, breathing hard for a moment.

Then, carefully cracking an eye open, he looked around the room at his classmates' curious expressions. He immediately deflated, embarrassed again. He must have looked so stupid, getting so worked up over catching a ball... But his turquoise orbs locked onto a shining emerald pair, and he saw that she was smiling proudly at him. _Him_.

And that was all the reward he needed before his passion in the game was restored. So the game continued, and the more it progressed, the more at ease Gaara gradually felt. Almost...normal. It was a good feeling, he decided. He was glad he'd finally found the courage to just jump in...and it was all because of her.

He looked across the room at the small pinkette chatting excitedly with Naruto by the cubbies. They looked like they were having a good time, Sasuke standing nearby, looking annoyed as he glared daggers Naruto's way. Gaara wished he could talk to her as friends, but he was still too shy. He'd made progress, but subconsciously, he still feared rejection.

But the next day would be different, he vowed to himself. And sure enough, it was. The next day came, and as Gaara walked into the classroom, clutching his bear as usual, he noticed everyone busily entertaining themselves. That wasn't really odd.

Except a certain person was missing...he gazed around the room in a panic. What if she wasn't here? What if she was sick? What if she switched schools and he never saw her again? What if she-

"Welcome to school, Sakura-chan." Iruka-sensei greeted, causing almost every boy in the room to focus their attention on the door.

Gaara looked too, and his heart leapt in his throat. She stood in the doorway...dressed in a pretty red dress that stopped at her knees, a bright red ribbon tied in her short pink hair, and holding a stuffed animal that looked like a bunny. Her rosy cheeks and big green eyes made her look like a sweet little angel. She returned the sensei's greeting politely and entered the classroom.

Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, and some of the others rushed over to greet her, but Gaara hung back, just staring with his mouth half open. She chatted with each of them for a little while before saying something quietly.

He watched as they all grudgingly stepped aside, and she toddled her way towards him, a happy glow radiating from all around her. "Gaara-san!" she squealed excitedly, her pace faster as she approached him. Gaara felt the urge to pinch himself, wondering if he was dreaming.

She reached him and his heart stopped. "Ohayo, Gaara-san. Do you want to play with me today?" she looked up at him through her eyelashes shyly, and he swallowed quietly. How could someone be so adorable yet so clueless? "Um, I brought my bunny-chan, so we can play with our toys together if you want...?" she offered nervously.

She was beginning to lose confidence. It wasn't that she thought Gaara was scary, but she usually never talked to boys her age so directly. She had only recently started after coming to this school and realizing that in order to make friends, she'd have to socialize with boys. But that didn't mean it was easy. Sometimes she still wanted to hide behind something like she usually did.

Silently, he nodded, and she breathed a small sigh of relief. He led her to his special corner, Sakura following beside him cheerfully. As they sat down together in the peaceful spot at the back of the classroom, the others looked on with envy.

Sasuke looked like he was going to throw a fit, Kiba was growling to himself, Rock Lee was crying big, fat tears, and Naruto was pouting like a kicked puppy. The others pretended to remain uninterested, but secretly they were watching too.

"Um, Sakura-san...?" Gaara began after a few minutes of silence. He could feel the intense heat from the others' staring, and it was beginning to make him a little uncomfortable. "W-Why did you want to play me?"

She looked at him, seeming surprised. "I...thought maybe we could be friends?" she trailed off quietly, almost afraid he wouldn't want to play with her. Maybe she was just butting in...maybe he _preferred_ to be on his own instead of around her. Kids at her old school had often told her she was annoying, even though she hadn't really talked much.

It was Gaara's turn to be alarmed. He stared at her with those wide, nervous eyes rimmed in black and full of sadness and hope. "R-really? You'd want to be my...friend?" he looked away bashfully.

"Uh-huh, I even brought Bunny-chan, so her and your teddy could play together!" she smiled, proudly holding the stuffed white rabbit in front of her.

Gaara stared before looking down at his own fuzzy companion."You...have a special toy too?"

Sakura nodded eagerly, "Yes, my mama gave her to me. I sleep with her every night!"

He looked at the rabbit fondly and hugged his bear tighter, knowing how special a stuffed animal could be. For as long as he could remember, his teddy had been a source of comfort. It was more than a toy, it was almost like his best friend. His only friend really. Well, except now he had Sakura, too. He felt warm inside, and a real smile adorned his face. "Thank you...Sakura-san."

Sakura looked at him in confusion, her head tilted slightly. "Why? For bringing Bunny-chan so Teddy-chan could have somebody to play with?"

He closed his eyes, his cheeks growing warm. "For...being my friend." Suddenly, Sakura's whole face lit up, and she grinned happily. He still had his eyes closed, so he couldn't see her smiling at him. But he heard her giggling a minute later.

Gaara slowly opened one eye to look at her, when he felt something warm pressed against him, small arms wrapped around his neck. He stared down at the top of a pink head in shock. She was...she was actually..._touching_ him. No, she was _hugging _him!

"You're welcome, Gaara-kun." she said sweetly. Gaara's heart raced; she was hugging him, and she called him "_Gaara-kun_"!

"S-Sakura-san..."

"Um, you can call me Sakura or Sakura-chan...if you want." she moved away quickly, as if unsure of her own boldness, and her normal shy look replaced the happy smile.

"Sakura-chan." Gaara said, liking the way it sounded on his lips. She looked up at him with her big, doe-like eyes in response. "Do you...want to play now?" he asked, trying not to sound nervous. She nodded, holding out Bunny-chan again.

From across the room, the others watched enviously as the two chatted and giggled together, off in their own world. "Sheesh, if I knew _Gaara_ was gonna be the one to take all of Sakura-chan's attention, I would have let Akamaru chew on his bear or something..." Kiba mumbled.

"Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed, shaking his head.

"I don't get it, why's ugly spending all her time with _raccoon boy_? Isn't she afraid to get freak germs or something?" Sai pondered, sketching something absently in his pad.

Naruto turned on the little artist, scowling. "Shove it, Sai! _You're_ just jealous 'cause Sakura-chan don't like your stupid pictures anymore!"

"Whatever you say, dickless." Naruto stuck out his tongue and gave Sai a not so nice gesture with his finger. Sasuke watched the pair in the corner sullenly. Was Gaara really going to win her over, just because he liked to play with _teddy bears_? Hmph, what was so great about him anyway?

All the boys tried to hide their envious looks to no avail, silently all wondering what they could do to make sure Sakura-chan liked them best. Then, an idea struck the young Uchiha, and he grinned almost evilly. He knew exactly what to do. Although he would need help...he eyed his blond-haired rival and the others distastefully. Well, if it was for Sakura...

"Dobe, I have a plan." he said, Naruto perking up instantly.

"Like what?"

"You know that field trip?"

"Yeah..." Naruto trailed off, his blue eyes flashing with confusion.

"Well, I know a way to make Sakura-chan like us best." he hated sharing _anything_ with his rival; especially Sakura, but he figured he'd get Naruto's help to win Sakura over, then deal with the blond dobe later. It shouldn't be too hard. But right now Naruto was the least of his problems... He told Naruto his plan, and the blond nodded eagerly.

"Wow Sasuke, you're better than I thought!" Sasuke gave him a look, but ignored it. Soon, Sakura would like him best. It was as simple as that.

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><p><strong>Wow, so far, I think Gaara's had the longest chapter of all! It wasn't really intentional; it just kinda took longer than I thought to wrap this one <strong>**up. But I'm guessing seeing how much everyone loves this story, you guys won't be complaining...? Everyone seemed really excited about this chappy too. It made me feel so warm~ Anyway, next chapter the real fun starts *chuckles evilly* **

**Can you guess what Sasuke and Naruto have planned? I also hope it was ok towards the end...I wrote a big English paper right before I finished this chapter, so I kinda ran outta steam and had to try to pick it back up...hope I did ok! I can't wait to hear from all of you again! I love your reviews sooooo much~! Seriously, reading them makes my whole day; it's why I try so hard. So please review! See you next chapter!**


	5. Museum Mayhem

**It's ch. 5! I'm so excited. I want to try something else, so instead of their usual classroom antics, the Cherry Blossom Class is heading on a field trip! Hooray! Although it sucks for the poor, unsuspecting suckers who will be the ones getting pranked...and Sakura, what will happen with her and her boys this time? Well, let's see~!**

**And there's a surprise appearance I know everyone's been waiting for! *grins***

**_P.S. (PLEASE READ_): I started working on this chapter a while ago, and i've taken my time on it, I admit, mostly because of everything else I have going on in my life. But I'd just like to take the time to acknowledge and unspeakable tragedy that has occured. As many of you living in the US already know...on Friday December 14th, 2012; 26 people were gunned down in a small Connecticut town, the majority being children between the ages of 6-7. I observe with a heavy heart how these tragedies seem to be increasingly more common. **

**So I dedicate this chapter in honor of those victims, though it's not much. I'd also like for all of you out there to take the time to appreciate how truly valuable life is...it's so fragile and precious...so live it up, and remember to say a kind word or gesture for someone, you never know how it will impact someone's life. In this world, we need each other...hard as it may be to live on this great, big planet sometimes, I think if we stop to think about it, we can make it if we really want to. **

**So please continue to offer support for the families and hope that the lost souls find peace. I know that each and every one of them has found a special place somewhere. You don't have to believe in heaven and hell to know innocent children will always find someplace to be adored, even in the afterlife. Nothing can bring them back, but let's all try to live to the fullest for their sake, ok? Thank you!**

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><p><strong>Ch. 5:<strong> Museum Mayhem

Everyone chattered eagerly, Iruka ushering them to settle down while he made one last role call.

"Alright everyone, I know it's exciting but keep still or I won't be able to finish my head-count." Of course this statement went ignored as the children continued to chat excitedly. Their first class fieldtrip! The eleven little kindergartners stood in line, squirming anxiously in their new uniforms, which were just for fieldtrips.

The school thought it'd be easier to keep track of students if everyone wore the same thing on fieldtrips. So instead of their usual t-shirts and shorts (or in Sakura's case, dresses), they wore white buttoned shirts with navy blazers and matching dress shorts, along with berets.

Sakura's outfit was almost the same, except she wore a red ribbon tied around her neck, and a navy skirt with shorts underneath. Her beret also had a small red ribbon on the side.

Iruka nodded as he checked off each one of his student's names. They were all so adorable in their new outfits, if he didn't know any better he'd think they were an innocent bunch of pre-schoolers... "Alright everyone, hold hands in single file. We're going to the train station and I don't want anyone wandering off or getting lost on the way. Naruto...that means you."

"_What_? What'd I do Iruka-sensei?!" the blond cried indignantly from the middle of the line.

"Just grab someone's hand and hurry up." the teacher snapped, "Once we get to the museum, our guide will go over the schedule we have for today. Now are there any questions before we leave?"

Instantly, several hands shot up, and Iruka sighed. Why did he even bother asking? It was like he was a glutton for punishment...

"Yes, Choji?"

"When's snack time?"

"We'll go through some of the exhibits in the front of the museum first, then stop for a snack break." Iruka replied, already expecting this to come up.

"Will they have barbecue for lunch?"

"I don't know...the museum was generous enough to provide all our food for today, so just be grateful for what you get."

"But I-"

"If that's all the questions, then let's go before we miss our train." Iruka quickly interrupted, leading the way as they left the school and headed for the train station. Along the way, they had to stop several times for various reasons.

Needless to say, Iruka was not happy about all the unnecessary detours. "Kiba, I thought I told you to actually leave Akamaru _home_ today? We can't stop at every tree so he can do his business! And there are no pets allowed in the museum!"

"It's not his fault, sensei! We jogged to school today, so I let him drink a lot of water before we left." the spiky-haired Inuzuka replied, patting his faithful pooch on the head.

They managed to make it a few more blocks before the next interruption came. "I said to hold hands! Naruto, grab Sasuke's hand or it's after school cleaning duty for a week!"

"But I don't _wanna_, sensei! What if his Sasukeness rubs off on me?! What if I start hating ramen and only eating tomatoes? What if my new favorite color is black, and I start to say 'hn' a lot, and the sky falls do-"

"Just grab somebody's hand, now!" Iruka yelled, a vein practically bulging near his temple.

"Fine," Naruto huffed, giving his best 'stubborn pout', "but if I hold somebody's hand, it ain't gonna be Sasuke's!"

"Like I want your loser germs anyway, dobe."

"Quiet!" Iruka snapped. Sakura, who had been walking toward the end of the line, shyly holding hands with Shikamaru and Neji, stuck her head out of line to look up at Naruto an Sasuke, who were standing back to back with their arms crossed.

"Um, if you want, we can all have snack together later...once we get to the museum." she offered quietly, slightly shuffling her feet. It wasn't much of a consolation...but if it would get them to stop fighting and keep Iruka from literally blowing up...maybe it was worth a shot.

Both boys instantly whirled around. "Really, Sakura-chan?!"

"Well, I guess I could put up with the dobe for a little while..." Sasuke muttered, grabbing Naruto's _wrist_, careful to avoid actually touching the blond's sticky (probably unwashed) hands. "Let's go, loser." And with that, he proceeded to drag the protesting blond down the sidewalk.

Iruka looked on in amazement. Who would've thought a little pink-haired girl would have such a big impact on some of the rowdiest kids this side of Japan? He couldn't help but thank Kami for sending him this one little bright-eyed angel in the middle of all the mischievous devils.

As they continued to head off, _again_, he found himself dealing with yet _another_ headache. "Shikamaru, pay attention when you cross the street, don't look up at the sky!" he scolded.

"Hm...today would be a nice day to cloud watch." he mumbled. "It's kind of a drag to waste it."

"Yes, well you almost got Sakura injured." Neji glared at the Nara genius so hard he actually flinched a little.

Sakura, who had been happily following Shikamaru's lead, hadn't noticed when he'd suddenly stopped to watch a passing cloud...right as the light changed for cars to move. Luckily, Neji had grabbed her back onto the sidewalk in time, and Shikamaru had merely stepped back onto the safety of the pavement after snapping out of his daze, merely blinking.

Sakura looked up into Neji's pearly eyes as he frowned in concern. "You're not hurt?" She blushed a little as he scanned her for any injuries.

"Uh-huh, I'm ok..." she muttered sheepishly.

Secretly, she thought Neji reminded her a little bit of the prince from one of her favorite fairytales. He was very mature for his age, and something about him made her feel safe. Sakura also thought he looked elegant and talked like a prince. _And_, he was really, really smart! She knew because she had seen him reading a hard looking book once and asked what it was.

He told her it was a combination of basic Algebra and Geometry and she leaned over his shoulder to see the book and excitedly told him that sometimes she saw the same things in her soup at home! She'd been so serious and excited that Neji couldn't help but laugh at how her adorable little face lit up.

That was when his interest in the little pinkette really started. He was known for being mellow, serious, and according to most girls he met, "a prince". He was polite by nature but never felt close to anyone other than his father and little cousin.

But Sakura was so earnest and endearing, it was hard not to find her adorable. She sparkled with innocence and life and was curious about everything new. Neji found it amusing just to watch her eyes get bigger every time she saw something for the first time. It made him want to be near her as much as possible, to be around the natural happiness that was Sakura herself.

He smiled gently, seeing she was indeed ok. "Good." he said, fixing her hat slightly. Sakura felt her cheeks get warm all over again, and almost didn't notice when someone took her hand and began to lead her across the street, this time, with no cars coming.

She gasped as she looked up to see one Inuzuka Kiba holding her hand, Akamaru perched on his shoulder. "Walk with me, Sakura-chan. I won't let that mean Neji hurt you." he grinned at her from over his shoulder.

She looked at the ground shyly, then looked back to see Neji further down the line, frowning slightly. Obviously, he wasn't too happy to have the Inuzuka now clinging to Sakura.

"Um, I...uh, ok." she replied quietly. The meek Sakura had never been too good at saying 'no', but she had also never been good at letting people down.

Silently, she promised to regroup and find Neji to explain as soon as they got to the museum. In the meantime, she let Kiba walk with her the rest of the way to the train station, and when it was time to board, Iruka did another head count and gave everyone's tickets to the conductor, then watched as everyone got into the same car.

Sakura stared in amazement, this being her first time in a train, or anything other than a car, really. The little troupe of kindergarteners clambered into their seats, almost everyone fighting over who got to sit next to Sakura, who chose a seat by the window. In the end, it was to everyone's surprise and annoyance that none other than Sai grabbed Sakura up to sandwich between himself and the half-awake Shikamaru.

Sakura pouted a bit when she noticed she wasn't in her window seat, but her face quickly turned into a flaming red when she noticed Sai's arms were wrapped around her neck and he was leaning extremely close to her. "Stay with _me_, Sakura." he murmured firmly, pressing his face closer to her shoulder possessively.

"Hey, let go of Sakura-chan, you freak!" Naruto protested, getting up and pointing.

"Yeah, who said you could call dibs on Sakura-chan! She's gonna sit by us! Right, Akamaru?" Kiba chorused, followed by an agreeing bark from the puppy in his jacket.

"What a drag..." Shikamaru yawned, arm propped up on his arm rest as he blinked tiredly.

"Sakura decided to sit with me; so get over it, losers." Sai stated, his same emotionless mask on. His words came out sounding surprisingly bitter, though.

The boys were about to let loose another wave of protest when the conductor's voice came on over the intercom. _"The Yamamoto Express is now leaving the station. Next stop, the Abikawa prefecture's famous museum." _Iruka stormed into the car, glaring at his squabbling students with his hands planted firmly on his hips.

"We're leaving the station. _Sit down_, you're all embarrassing me." he hissed. They all slowly and reluctantly complied, Naruto grumbling aloud as he found a seat across the aisle from Sakura's, near Gaara's and Sasuke's. Iruka huffed indignantly, looking like a cross mother hen, when he noticed the other passengers staring at him strangely.

He looked around , blushing as he saw that he was now the only one not seated. "O-oh, of course! I'm very sorry. P-please excuse my students, t-they're all just excited for their first field trip." he rubbed the back of his neck and bowed before scurrying off to his own seat in the next car up.

He gave the boys one last warning look, mouthing, "_Be good or else._" before shutting the door. Naruto merely stuck his tongue out behind his teacher's back, and looked to Sasuke for the Uchiha's next part of the plan.

"As soon as we get to the museum and choose partners, _we'll_ be with Sakura-chan." he stated determinedly. Naruto grinned goofily at his friend and rival, settling back in his seat for a quick nap. All the evil plotting made him surprisingly tired...

* * *

><p>Uchiha Itachi stared blankly at the priceless works of art as he and his...classmates, if you wanted to call them that, stood in one of the main halls of the large museum. He didn't understand why fate had resigned him to this kind of torture.<p>

Had he done something wrong in a past life? Was he some kind of ruthless, cold-hearted killer who slaughtered his family...? He shook his head briefly. No, of course not; what a ridiculous thought.

The Uchiha prodigy decided there was no particular reason why Kami was currently punishing him; the god just decided he was the right mortal to screw with for the day. Gods didn't need any other reason to be evil, did they?

At any rate, he'd never wanted to go on this stupid class outing with these imbeciles, but his mother had insisted, knowing he couldn't argue when she asks. Damn that woman...

"Hey, Itachi," one of his classmates called suddenly, "Look at that sword. Bet'cha you could tear anything to ribbons with that thing, eh?"

The tall, strangely blue-skinned boy named Kisame stood next to him, staring appreciatively at a display case that contained a massive weapon wrapped in white cloth, the plaque under it reading, "_Samehada, the legendary shinobi sword. Said to have belonged to a powerful rogue ninja, and have been able to slice through anything_."

Kisame gave a low whistle as he looked at the sword in the case, practically drooling. "I bet she's a beauty...I can almost imagine fighting with her."

"You?" another voice suddenly scoffed, "Gimme a break, fish-gut." a boy with silver hair and magenta eyes was eying another case nearby with a large three-sickle scythe in it. "Who cares 'bout some wimpy-ass sword anyway, I bet _this_ was one bad ass weapon. You could really do some fucking damage with this!" he grinned maniacally in excitement.

Kisame glared, turning away from the boy to mutter under his breath. "Little punk wouldn't know a real work of art if it cut him through the freaking heart..."

Itachi remained silent, already used to the insanity of his peers, and their sick fascination with all things gruesome. You see, he wasn't just in any class, _oh no_, he was part of the _advanced_ class-the Akatsuki class. It was no secret that he was a genius, so naturally he should be among his own kind, right? Well, that's what his father and teachers thought.

And so, about a year ago, he'd been _forced_ to join the class of so-called prodigies at Senju Acadamey known simply as the notorious Akatsuki. But they were still more of a gang than a class of respectable geniuses. They fought, stole, bullied teachers and students alike, and their mysterious teacher had yet to show up _once_ the whole year.

Their classroom was separated from all the others at the academy. In fact, the school had built a whole separate wing just for this one program. They had their own separate everything, including a lounge room, cafeteria, pool area and tennis courts, track and field, and access to all the state of the art technology right at their fingertips in the classroom. It was beyond luxury schooling.

But because the Akatsuki was so feared, no one dared tell them what to do. The last teacher that had tried had been found behind the school rocking himself back and forth and muttering incoherently.

He had been hospitalized and was never the same again. So now they ran wild with no real supervision, and Itachi, who honestly _tried_ to get a good education, was caught up right in the middle of it.

Yet besides being a bunch of geniuses and exceptional delinquents, the Akatsuki had become like...a second family of sorts. An incredibly strange and often violent one, yes, but a family nonetheless.

He watched as two more members of their little "class", a redhead and a blond, argued about which was a better ninja tool-explosive clay or poisonous knives. It turned into an all out brawl when the blond, a cocky boy named Deidara, made a cheeky remark about the redheaded Sasori's fondness towards puppets.

Calling it a doll fetish and quickly sending Sasori into a rage, and reaching for the other boy's neck. Deidara dodged and stuck his tongue out cheekily Sasori yelling some not-so-friendly terms of _endearment_ after him. Ah yes, the joys of family...

Speaking of which, Itachi suddenly remembered a conversation he'd had with his brother at breakfast earlier that morning.

_Itachi came down stairs, fully dressed and back from his usual morning jog, to see an amusing sight. His brother was struggling to get on a pair of brand new boots and was having a hard time getting his foot in, since the zipper was jammed._

_His mother watched her younger son worriedly from over the counter as she skillfully made breakfast. His father was nowhere in sight, but Itachi assumed he was upstairs shaving, or just finishing putting on his work uniform; he was the chief of their family's police force, after all. _

_He usually came down about ten minutes before Itachi left for school, as Sasuke was just stumbling out of bed. But today, like that day several weeks earlier, Sasuke was up and looked eager to go. Itachi noted the stylish navy blazer his brother was wearing, and the matching hat sitting on the table._

_He concluded that obviously, Sasuke's class was going somewhere special, or his brother had just taken up a strange habit of wearing semi-formal attire to kindergarten. He decided the latter was unlikely. Mikoto smiled as she noticed her first-born in the room, and Sasuke glanced up to offer his brother a hurried greeting as he continued to struggle with his shoe._

_"You're up early again, otouto. I presume your class has plans for today?"_

_Sasuke grinned widely at him before going back to his battle with the boot. "Yup, it's our first field trip! I don't wanna be late, so I gotta...get this...dumb shoe...on!" and with one final tug, on it was, but Sasuke was also on-the floor that was. _

_Mikoto giggled daintily behind her hand and Itachi shook his head with a small smile. Sasuke quickly popped up as if nothing happened, his cheeks a noticeable pink as he brushed off the front of his clothes. He shot Itachi a warning look, mumbling, "I know, I know...don't say it, ok?"_

_"So, Sasu-chan, where is this trip of yours going to be anyway? You still haven't told me yet." Mikoto smiled as she placed a steaming bowl of rice, with pickled radishes and seaweed paste buns down on the table in front of him. He gave his mother a grateful look before breaking his chop sticks open and starting in on his breakfast. _

_"It's gonna be... at a museum." he told her proudly, shoveling the food in his mouth. _

_His mother winced, "Slow down, Sasuke-chan. The museum isn't going anywhere." she told him firmly, dabbing at his face with the side of her apron. The young Uchiha frowned slightly but allowed the fussy treatment. _

_"Kaa-chan," he whined slightly, getting up from the table. "I gotta go _now_." he said it with such a sense of sincere urgency, his mother could only chuckle good-naturedly. She kissed his cheek and told him to have a nice day while Itachi also prepared himself by placing his shoes on and getting his backpack from the hook by the door. The two brothers were soon out the door, their mother waving behind them._

* * *

><p>Itachi's mind came back to the present and he gazed around at his odd classmates. <em>'I haven't seen any other tours being conducted. Maybe it was in a different district after all...<em>'

Just as he thought this, the distinct sound of young children chattering could be heard from around the corner, and his keen eyes caught the movement of a smiling woman dressed as a tour guide walking into the corridor from the other side of the room.

A man he recognized as his brother's homeroom teacher followed behind her, listening excitedly as the tour guide explained the exhibit they were about to view. He could also see several children he recognized as his otouto's classmates trailing after them, most looking disgruntled for some reason.

_'It seems that this day will be amusing in more ways than one._' he mused, walking out of the room just as they entered to join with his group who had left for the next half of the museum.

The Cherry Blossom class had just entered the museum and was staring around in wonder at the size of the main hall. Everywhere there were groups of tourists and excited visitors, all snapping photos and pointing out things to each other.

Their own tour guide gave them a wide, almost painfully cheery smile, "Welcome to Abikawa's pride and joy, the Jeido Museum of Japan's History. My name is Ume and I will be your guide today. We've just added a brand new exhibit featuring the heroes of Japan's past-ninjas."

She smiled as she saw many of the blank young faces immediately light up with eager expressions. "Ok, so if you'll all just partner up, we'll begin the tour in our south wing." The students began scrambling to get partners, Iruka making sure everyone was paired off.

He frowned slightly when he realized that because of the odd number of students, one group would have to have three members, but he didn't think much of it.

Sakura was a sweet, obedient girl that could easily fit in with any group without problems, so he would just stick her in with two boys, preferably the calmest of them. Of course the others might try something to act out because of this, but Iruka had come prepared.

Anyone who disobeyed today would be on the short end of the leash. Literally. He had brought along a kiddy harness. Yes, such measurements were needed with the Cherry Blossom Class. In the end he partnered Shikamaru and Choji, Neji and Rock Lee, Kiba and Shino, Sai and Gaara, and Naruto and Sasuke with Sakura.

He had originally planned to have Sakura with Neji and Shino since they were the calmest of the class, but as soon as they had gotten to the museum, Sasuke and Naruto had rushed forward and grabbed Sakura's hands, refusing to let go, even under the threat of extreme punishment and embarrassment for acting out later.

He figured with a pair that stubborn, it was better to satisfy them now to keep them quiet then to deal with an episode in the middle of the museum later. Now Sasuke and Naruto stood triumphantly, still holding firmly onto Sakura's hands and shooting the others smug looks, which they returned with angry glares.

Iruka was surprised to see even the normally passive Gaara and ever polite Neji looked agitated at having Sakura paired with the rivaling duo. Even with Sakura in between them as a pacifier, Iruka had expected an argument to erupt between Naruto and Sasuke at any moment, but they remained perfect little angels as their guide took them through the south wing.

It was a little disturbing to their teacher, really. Almost like they had planned it...he couldn't help but wonder what they were plotting in their sick little minds. Five year olds or not, he wouldn't put anything past them. _'They normally would be arguing by now. Hmm...one thing's for sure...when those two get together, it's never a good thing.'_

"And these," the tour guide continued, "Are artifacts found in the ruins of what was once believed to be a hidden ninja village. They're called kunai, and were very important tool for any ninja to have." the class gathered around the display case to look at the old weapons.

"That's awesome!" Naruto grinned. "Hey Sakura-chan, who do ya think would've made a better ninja, me or that stupid teme over there?" he whispered loudly to Sakura as he pointed at his rival, making her blush at how close he was.

Sakura seemed to ponder this question before answering, "S-Sasuke-kun would be really good at being sneaky, I think." Naruto sulked a bit, and seeing this, she quickly added, "B-But I think you'd be really strong too, Naruto-kun."

Naruto beamed proudly while Sasuke rolled his eyes. They continued their walk, stopping in front of a particularly crowded room where several large groups of adult tourists were clambered around what was apparently the museum's prized exhibit.

"Well, as you can see," Ume spoke louder above the din in the room. "It's a bit crowded now, so we'll circle back around to see it later. Follow me, everyone. Be careful, it may be a tight squeeze." she warned. Sure enough, the kindergarteners had to walk close together to avoid running into the forest of legs, hand bags, and skirts.

Sakura, who was holding Naruto's hand near the end of the line, looked up for a brief second when she caught sight of something sparkly across the room. It looked like a pretty amulet, but from where she was, it was hard to tell for sure.

The larger group of adults suddenly moved, and one lady's large hand bag swung as she turned around, hitting Sakura in the stomach and knocking the wind out of the poor pink-haired five-year old.

At the same time, she lost her grip on Naruto's hand, and was swept up into the sea of shuffling feet as she fell down on her knees. "N-Naruto?! S-Sasuke!" she called helplessly, trying to crawl through the crowd and make her way back over to her class. But the feet were moving her in the opposite direction, and she kept falling down.

Everything suddenly grew still, and Sakura stood up only to realize she was somewhere totally unfamiliar, far away from her classmates. In other words, she was lost. Quickly realizing this, the pinkette felt her eyes watering as she searched frantically for the sight of anything familiar. But there was no one. She was alone in the corridor, or so she thought.

She began to cry, sniffling quietly and then just breaking down into hysterical sobs. She didn't hear the sound of approaching footsteps, or notice the presence of an older boy standing over her.

"It's hard to enjoy the beauty of art with such annoying noises. Don't you know you're not supposed to be loud in a museum, little girl?" Startled, she looked up through teary eyes, her long lashes stuck together.

"H-Huh?" she was surprised to see a redheaded boy looking down at her through his messy fringe of bangs. His mellow amber eyes seemed bored but alert at the same time. She took a step back, warily. She'd always been told not to talk to strangers, and this boy didn't seemed to please with her crying.

She decided to just take her chances and run, not even caring which way she went or where she ended up, so long as she was away from the scary redhead. She would have made it too, if it weren't for the wall that materialized in front of her and sent her sprawling flat on her butt.

"Whoa, un! Look danna, somebody lost a kid." Sakura rubbed her eyes, squinting up at the new voice. She gasped, scooting back and away from the long-haired blond boy staring down at her curiously. "Uh, um I..." Sakura looked between the two boys and whimpered before the tears began to come again.

Deidara looked alarmed by this, not expecting her to burst out crying, while Sasori merely sighed. "Yeah, I know. She was in here by herself when I came by, crying at the top of her lungs. I couldn't even enjoy my favorite display." he said, sounding slightly disappointed.

Deidara frowned, ignoring his redheaded friend as he kneeled down before the girl. "Hey, it's ok, un. I'm Deidara, what's your name?"

Sakura blinked back the last few tears before replying. "S-Sakura..." she mumbled quietly.

Deidara grinned, glad he got her to calm down a little. "Cute name, un. What's a little girl like you doing all by herself?"

"I...I got lost." she rubbed her eye and looked up at the grinning blond, really seeing his face for the first time. He had shiny golden hair that fell in his face and covered one eye. It was up in a high ponytail, but most of it fell down his back. The visible eye she could see was light blue, and sparkled almost mischievously. She noticed he was wearing a middle school uniform that looked somewhat familiar.

Deidara straightened up slightly to put his arms down on his knees for balance. "Well," he looked back to the moody redhead to see him looking pretty impatient. Tch, it figured. "Why don't we help you find your class, hm? It's not safe for a little girl to wonder around by herself."

Sasori's head snapped around at this, his eyes narrowed at the grinning blond. "Deidara..." he warned.

"Don't worry, Sasori-danna, un! We can help this kid find her class and still have plenty of time to see the best exhibits." he waved a hand behind him in a carefree manner.

"Will that be ok, Sakura-chan?" he smiled, giving the cute young girl the honorific. She nodded shyly, and he helped her to her feet. He then gently took hold of her hand, leading her over to Sasori, who grunted tersely before looking away. "I don't think he likes me..." Sakura whispered, looking down at her feet.

Deidara smiled with a small shake of his head, "Nah, un. Who couldn't like such a sweet little girl?" Sakura blushed brightly and he laughed.

She was an amusing little girl indeed. He silently wondered what the others would say as they led her back to the other Akatsuki. They rounded the corner just in time to see the others standing there waiting, Pein's arms folded across his chest, looking none too happy.

Deidara inwardly groaned. How did that one saying go again? Out of the fire and into the frying pan...

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it took so long...I hope it was worth the wait? Eh, probably not...you probably wanted more Sakura and Akatsuki guys (plus Konan) action, right? Well, don't worry there will be next chapter. What will the Akatsuki do when they meet the cute lil' pinkette? And what'll happen when her class finds out she's missing? Kill Naruto. XD Yeah, probably. Anyway, make sure you R&amp;R and show your support~! Thanks! See ya next time!<strong>


	6. Bonus Chapter!

**NOTICE: Hey guys, I've been really busy with preparing for college finals this week, and will be for a while, but I was digging through some of my older files and stumbled upon this half-finished idea for one of the earlier chapters of the story. Apparently, I forgot about it, or got too impatient and scrapped it for something else. But I read over it and decided it's not too bad, so consider this a bonus chapter ok. It is NOT the official next chapter in the story. That will probably be up sometime after I can finish exams. But please enjoy this fluff-filled chapter in compensation.**

**This chapter mainly features NaruxSaku with slight mentions of NejixSaku. Don't worry, Neji will get his own chapter focused on him and Sakura, as will all the other boys that haven't gotten a turn yet.**

**Bonus**: Finding Friends

* * *

><p>Naruto grinned widely to himself. It was finally snack time, one of his favorite times of the day, and he was going to eat with Sakura-chan.<p>

After all she was new, so she would need a snack buddy to eat with, right?

And he was the perfect choice. He would make sure she stayed close, and keep her away from that icky old Sasuke-jerk.

He had even gotten Iruka-sensei to give him extra just so he could share it with her. He blushed slightly, thinking back to their earlier conversation.

_Iruka was passing out snacks, smiling as each child eagerly came up to receive their portion before rushing off to devour it with the others._

_He grabbed another box from the counter, turning around to see a familiar little blond standing in front of him._

_A fond smile tugged at his lips as he reached down to hand the small boy the bento box. "Here you go, Naruto. Be careful not to drop it this time, okay?"_

"_Hey, Iruka-sensei!" he whined, pouting. "That's not fair! I told you Sai tripped me that time!"_

_Iruka only sighed, shaking his head. "Try not to pick so many fights with Sai…" he saw Naruto preparing to answer back but quickly shook his head to stop him, "I know it's hard but…" he bent down so he could be on eye level with the five-year old. "If you're good, maybe I can see about taking you out for ramen sometime later on," _

_The blond's ocean blue eyes instantly widened, "Ramen! Really?! That would be so cool, Iruka-sensei! I __**love **__ramen!"_

_Iruka couldn't help but smile at the blond's cute antics. "I know, so be good okay?" he ruffled the boy's already messy hair before standing up again._

"_Yeah!" Naruto nodded vigorously, an ear-splitting grin across his face. Then his eyes widened as he suddenly seemed to remember something, and his gaze shifted to the ground._

"_Demo…" he frowned, his normally lively eyes suddenly looking oddly serious, "I actually needed to ask you for a favor, Iruka-sensei…" he shuffled his feet nervously, and Iruka's brow creased, slightly worried. _

_It was strange to see Naruto looking and acting so…serious. It made him wonder what could be wrong with the cheerful blond._

"_What is it Naruto? What's wrong?"_

_The blond gulped quietly, biting his lip as he took a quick glance in the direction of a small pink-haired girl, who was currently sitting next to Gaara as they both waited for their snack, who only glanced at her nervously, clutching his favorite bear._

_This was his chance to impress her—it was now or never._

"_Uh…I…I was wondering…if I could…um…maybe have an extra snack?" he asked quietly, peering up at Iruka with big hopeful eyes._

_The man felt his eyebrow twitch, fixing the blond with one of his stern looks. "Naruto, we've talked about this. You can only have extra after everyone else eats if ai have any leftover, otherwise there might not be enough and—"_

"_Ne, ne…it's not for me!" he interrupted, shaking his head from side to side._

_Confusion settled onto the tanned-skinned teacher's facial features in place of annoyance. "Eh? Then…who's it for?" he asked gently._

_At this point Naruto's whiskered face was a bright scarlet as he focused intently on staring at a spot between his feet. "Um...i-it's..." he glanced back, gazing at a certain pink-haired little girl who seemed to be attempting to engage the quiet redhead in a conversation._

_The teacher blinked, looking first in the direction the little blond was staring, then back up at the boy himself. An understanding smile pulling at his lips, "Ah, I see." he laughed, "Here, let me see your box for a minute." _

_The blonde cocked his head in confusion, but handed his teacher the box nonetheless. Iruka turned around, sliding the lid up and placing something else into the container along with the other snack foods. "There, now there's enough to share for two people. And, I added a special treat to it too." he smiled, winking._

_Naruto grinned from ear to ear, thanking his teacher many times before running off excitedly._

He closed his eyes, his excited grin turning into a triumphant smirk as he thought of Sasuke pouting and fuming from the corner while he ate snack with Sakura-chan and pushed her on the swings during recess.

'_Heh heh…Sasuke-teme doesn't stand a chance_,' he thought evilly.

'_Once I become bestest friends with Sakura-chan, he'll be all alone and…hey! What's __**that **__guy doing sitting next to her!? That's supposed to be __**my**__ spot!'_ Naruto fumed silently, opening his eyes to see none other than his second most-hated person ever—that evil conniving art prodigy.

It wasn't enough that he always had to steal the spotlight during art time and torment Naruto the _rest_ of the time; but _nooo_, now he had to go and try to take Sakura-chan away from him too!

The brunette was sitting beside a very nervous-looking Sakura, trying to offer the little pinkette a dango by holding it to her mouth, the same creepy fake smile he usually wore already in place.

She was blushing warmly, shaking her head weakly and staring down at her shoes. The riceball she'd been quietly chewing clutched firmly yet forgotten in her small trembling hands.

Naruto didn't know why, but just the sight of Sai so close to her made his insides burn. He was suddenly swept with the overwhelming sensation to throttle Sai.

Well, not that that was really so unusual. But …the reason was different.

He felt like he wanted to kill Sai because he was too close, because he was making Sakura-chan uncomfortable, and because…_ he_ wanted to be the one to feed Sakura-chan.

'_Sai…_' The blond glared with as much malice as a five-year old could possibly muster as he stomped over to the pair, squeezing the bento box he'd been holding a little tighter.

"Come on," he could hear the little artist saying as he approached. "Just open up and say 'aah'. It'll be good, I promise. That's what grown-ups always do on tv anyway…so I wanna try it."

His scary smile grew even bigger, if possible, and Sakura only seemed more convinced not to comply, her mouth now firmly sealed shut and clamped together in a thin line.

"Oi, what do you think _you're_ doing Sai-teme?" Naruto called, hurrying over and wedging himself in between Sai and Sakura like a human barrier, forcing the brown-haired boy to step back a bit, "Leave Sakura-chan alone!"

"Oh, what do you want now, dickless?" he replied, tilting his head innocently with his trademark fake grin plastered in place.

"I told you to stop calling me that! And you're not supposed to use those words in front of Sakura-chan!" the blond glared accusingly.

"What's wrong, weenie-free wonder? Don't want Sakura here to find out the truth?"

"Grr…just stay away from Sakura-chan!" he clenched the bento box even tighter now, and Sakura gasped quietly as she watched it bend in his grip.

"Why should I? It's not fair that you get to keep her all to yourself." Sai replied calmly, fixing Naruto with an even, apathetic look.

"B-Because, I..." Naruto began, his face flushing a bright red, "...I just, just stay away, okay?!"

"Humph...your penislessness is showing..." Sai smirked irritatingly before getting up and walking off.

"The hell does that even mean?!" Naruto stomped angrily, so angrily that he used one of the words Iruka specifically told him not to use.

Naruto stared at his retreating form, boring holes straight through the artistic boy's back with his deep ocean blue eyes. "Grr... that guy makes me so mad..." he mumbled to himself. Then, turning to Sakura, he gave the pink-haired girl a warm grin, "Are you okay, Sakura-chan?"

She slowly nodded her head hesitantly. "Um...A-arigatou," she whispered, flushing cutely as she stared at her feet nervously.

"Uh, mind if I sit with you?" the little blond asked, scratching his head sheepishly.

"Sure!" she chirped brightly, seeing this as her chance to make a new friend.

He eagerly hopped into the spot beside her at the table, glancing down to notice the bento box from earlier still in hand. Smiling goofily, he placed it on the table, pushing it forward slightly. "Um, you wanna share a snack with me?" he asked nervously.

Sakura tilted her head to the side, studying his warm cheeks and nervous expression. She had no idea, but Naruto was being nothing like his normal loud, confident self. "Okay, thanks Naru-chan!" she grinned happily.

Naruto's eyes widened and his cheeks grew even brighter at the nickname.

He shook it off quickly however, pulling out the still whole snacks from the box and placing them down on the table.

There were several rice balls, two sticks of dango and a bean paste bun, along with pickled plums, oden, and tamago.

Naruto felt his mouth water at all the delicious looking food, but managed to control himself long enough to allow Sakura the chance to eat first.

"Here, Sakura-chan. You pick," he offered, and she nodded slightly, reaching forward and taking a riceball in her small hands. After seeing her choose a pickled plum, Naruto quickly grabbed another riceball and began chomping into it eagerly.

Sakura giggled at her new friend and classmate as she too began eating her riceball. "Mm..." Naruto smiled, "yummy!"

He gave her a thumbs up, flashing her a wide grin, the paste from the inside of the riceball smeared all over his face.

Sakura took one look at him and broke out in a giggling fit, not realizing she had rice crumbs all over her face too.

When she realized she'd been laughing out loud she paused immediately, clamping a hand to her mouth and staring at the blond fearfully, afraid she had offended her new friend.

But he only continued to give her the same lackadaisical grin, only it stretched even further once he noticed her reaction.

He studied her face for a minute, beaming. "Wow, you're cute!" he blurted happily, oblivious to the way his statement caused the girl sitting beside him to turn as red as a ripe tomato at the compliment.

They continued to enjoy the rest of their snack together, laughing and talking as if they had known each other all their lives. Iruka smiled softly at the sight, glad that Naruto had made a new friend, and was actually behaving himself. It was a miracle!

Now the kids were outside on the playground, and so far it seemed like everyone was playing peacefully, which was highly unusual.

They had gathered around in the flower fields, where Sakura was making a bouquet. All of them seemed interested in interacting with their new female classmate, but most hesitated, unsure of how to approach her.

Naruto however easily skipped right up to her, and began talking quite casually. The other boys seemed jealous of this and soon joined the conversation.

"So, you like flowers Sakura-chan?" Neji asked coolly, eyeing the delicate pink blossoms she had collected, still clutched in her hand.

"Uh-huh!" she nodded. "My bestest friend Ino-chan and me used to pick flowers all the time at my old school. Her family has a flower shop with lots and lots of different kinds of stuff, and sometimes I get to go there and see all the pretty flowers!" she exclaimed, waving her hands around excitedly.

Ino was the only one that would talk to her in school.

She complimented her, and stood up to the bullies that bothered her, even though she was cool and popular, too.

When Ino had changed schools, Sakura was heartbroken, even though she could still go see her at her family's flowershop, it just wasn't the same.

And with Ino gone, all her bullies ganged up on her everyday. It was a nightmare, and she was alone through it all.

She never told anyone because she was afraid of what the bullies would do if she got the grown-ups involved.

Neji smiled lightly. Usually, girls his age annoyed him; mostly because they were loud, clingy, and always trying to touch his hair or make him play some silly girl game. But this girl was different, and he decided he didn't really mind talking to her.

"Of course it makes sense! You are a beautiful blossom, surrounded by more blossoms!" Lee exclaimed loudly, nodding his head as tears poured from his round, dark eyes.

Neji rolled his eyes in annoyance but Sakura only smiled, bending down to pick a bright yellow flower before turning back to the Hyuga boy, "Do you wanna help me pick flowers too, Neji-kun?" she asked sweetly. Neji felt his cheeks become slightly warm as he stared into her large, innocent green eyes.

He had never felt any sort of attraction toward females before, but now...how could he put this? Sakura was...cute, and her innocence was impossible to resist.

"Okay," he managed to smirk lightly as he followed her into the fields, watching as she picked up bright- colored flowers and trying to imitate her actions as best as he could.

Lee bounced around them, giving Sakura his famous 'nice guy pose' and pledging to pick her a bouquet of fifty flowers by the end of recess or do sixty-five pushups as punishment.

Neji watched as he took off, inwardly sighing in relief that the "noble blue beast" was gone for now.

He glanced over to see Sakura, crouched on the ground, holding a handful of fresh blue flowers.

Her short pink hair blew softly in the wind and her bright green eyes twinkled happily.

Suddenly, Neji felt his own cheeks heating up without warning as he stared at the young pinkette.

He placed a hand to his chest and looked out at the field in thought. What was wrong with him? Was he sick or something?

If he was he would beat Naruto to a pulp. He was the one who sneezed on him the other day. Gross!

He could still feel the Naruto-slime on his cheek no matter how many times he'd scrubbed it raw.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" Neji felt his eye twitch. Speak of the devil...

The energetic blond pounced up to them, running towards Sakura with a bright smile on his oddly whiskered face. "Hey, wanna play tag with me and Sasuke-baka?" he asked gleefully, motioning toward a dark-haired boy walking up to them.

Neji couldn't help but glare at the raven-haired Uchiha boy. The Uchiha and the Hyuga were old business rivals who'd been competing for almost a century.

But that wasn't what got Neji slightly riled up every time he was around. Maybe it was because he was a stuck-up brat who thought he was the best thing since naptime just because he was from the Uchiha clan, one of the richest, most powerful families in the world.

He watched heatedly as the Uchiha stepped up from behind Naruto, eying the new girl as if watching for a reaction. "Well okay, but can Neji-kun play too?" she asked, and the Hyuga was surprised to hear his name escape the delicate blossom's lips.

Naruto pouted slightly, giving Neji a somewhat envious look, "Uh... sure, but you'll be on my team, okay Sakura-chan?" he grabbed her wrist and dragged her towards him.

Neji glared at this, the flowers clenched tightly in his hand. "I refuse to be partnered with the Uchiha." he stated.

"Same here, _Hyuga_," he retorted, and soon they were engaged in an all out glaring match. Naruto and Sakura turned to watch them as sparks of electricity seemed to crackle between them.

Naruto tilted his head, still holding on to _his_ Sakura's wrists in case she needed protection. Sakura frowned at the scene, worrying that something bad might happen.

"Um, we don't have to play a team game. We could play something else," she suggested quickly, looking down at her feet.

Both glaring males stopped to look at her, blinking curiously before turning back towards each other stiffly. "Fine, just as long as I don't have to be near him." they both said in unison.

"Hey! Then how 'bout we play hide and seek?" Naruto piped up, grinning broadly. "Everybody can play since its more fun that way," he explained, cupping his hands to his mouth and inhaling a deep breath.

Seeing this, Sasuke and Neji both dropped their little squabble to look at Naruto with round, horrified eyes.

Sasuke took several steps back, placing both hands over his ears, while Neji winced. Sakura, as innocent as ever, only tilted her head curiously, not knowing what was going on.

"HEY YOU GUYS WE'RE GONNA PLAY HIDE N' SEEK, C'MON!" Everyone on the playground looked up from their assorted activities.

Gaara stopped digging through the sandbox, Shikamaru sat up and stretched tiredly where he lay, watching clouds in the grass.

Choji froze just as he was about to steal candy from an unsuspecting Kiba's pocket.

The Inuzuka boy stood up, since he'd been hunched over with his hands on his knees, trying to get Akamaru to pee on a tree before they got back inside.

Shino paused to look in Naruto's direction, a dragonfly perched on his finger.

Sai quit drawing mean illustrations of his classmates in chalk on the pavement, and Lee stopped looking for flowers, just as he was about to pick a daisy with a large bumblebee sitting in the middle.

All the males blinked, and just as Sakura was recovering, her head still spinning and her eyes crossed from Naruto's loud call, she heard what sounded like a stampede of raging elephants.

Luckily, no such packaderms were headed in her direction.

Instead, was a group of eager boys…Sakura gulped as everyone began to crowd around her and the three boys already assembled. She unconsciously took a step closer to Naruto for protection as her shyness took over, and the blond grinned cheekily to himself.

"Okay, you guys know how this goes, but let's break it down for Sakura-chan." He instructed, suddenly sounding very serious and…un-Narutoish. "Somebody's gotta be 'it' and count while we hide, and no peeking!" he yelled, whirling around to point in Sasuke's face. The raven-haired boy growled and nipped his finger, making Naruto yank it back with a yelp.

"_You're_ the one that peeks, dummy." he stated flatly. Naruto whimpered, nursing his slightly red finger. Frowning, Sakura gently lifted his hand up to inspect the hurting finger, "Anyway, whoever is 'it' has to come and find us when times up. So, who's gonna be it?" he finished, seeing Naruto was in no condition to annoy anyone for a while.

Inwardly, he smirked. Everyone glanced at each other, no one really wanting to volunteer.

It was always more fun to hide than it was to seek wasn't it?

Besides, everyone was secretly hoping that they'd be able to find a hiding spot with the cute new girl that Naruto had been keeping all to himself lately.

"It's gotta be somebody that knows how to count high enough for everyone to hide." Kiba pointed out.

Instantly all eyes went to Neji and Shikamaru, two of the most brilliant kids in the class.

Already, they could count well into their hundreds, and Neji even knew the whole alphabet backwards.

Shikamaru could solve complex algebraic equations with his eyes closed (and usually did, since he only ever seemed to show his true potential when Iruka could trick him into doing so while he was half-asleep).

Sasuke could probably count high enough too, but no one wanted him to be it, because he always found everyone too fast.

"It can't be Neji, he always knows exactly where everybody hides, like he's got eyes in the back of his head. It's just creepy." Naruto interjected, much to everyone's mild amusement.

Sasuke groaned, hoping he had put the blond out of commission longer. Maybe next time, he'd just bite his whole hand off to save time.

Neji crossed his arms over his chest with an indignant glare, and a small "hmph".

So he ate a lot of carrots and had close to twenty-twenty X-ray vision, so what?

"But Shikamaru always falls asleep before he finishes countin' down." Choji sighed. "It takes him forever to find anyone."

"I…I'll do it." A timid voice stated. Everyone looked at the blushing pink-haired girl with her trembling hand raised in the air.

She was obviously embarrassed to have drawn attention to herself, but she wasn't putting her hand back down, so she must've meant it.

"Are you sure, Sakura-chan. We usually have more fun hidin' you know." He gave her a curious stare, to which she simply shook her head.

"I…I don't mind. And um, I can count up to f-fifty so I'll be 'it'." She toed the ground with her lightly scuffed sneakers. Then, a painful look crossed her face as she spoke quietly, "I always had to be 'it' at my old school…c-'cause they said that that ugly monsters always chase people on the movies." Everyone was silent for a minute, not really knowing what to say.

Gaara clenched his shirt right where his heart was. The anguish in her words…reminded him of the anguish he felt all those times before moving to Konoha.

Could she…could someone finally understand him? So far, only Naruto seemed to really see him for who he was.

But maybe now there was a chance someone else could too.

Neji felt like his chest was going to explode with emotions. How _dare_ they. How _dare_ they say that about someone as pure as Sakura!

She was…she was _Sakura_! How could anyone not find her precious?

Even now…he could feel his heart rate pick up ever so slightly when he looked at her. He wondered why.

Naruto smiled at her, but it wasn't one of his usual warm smiles. It was filled with solemn understanding and sadness.

He gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "Ok Sakura-chan, you win. But…you don't have to if you don't want to. One of us can be 'it' for you if you want."

Sakura beamed, nodding. She didn't mind being it a dozen times in a row.

She was just glad that someone had finally given her the choice.

Someone cared about her feelings enough to ask her if she wanted to play the role, instead of making her.

Sakura walked over to the tallest tree she could find, covered and closed her eyes, and began to count. "1…2…3…4…"

Everyone scrambled to hide, and Sakura continued to count without looking.

But what she didn't fully realize yet was that _she _was the one that had been found that day.

And the Cherry Blossom Class was never going to let her out of their sights.

* * *

><p><strong>To be honest…I didn't really know where to go for the ending…but it turned out to be almost as long as an actual chapter, so I hope you guys will share some feedback… Next chapter is the conclusion of the field trip adventure. ;)<strong>


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